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BucKRA" Land 



TWO WEEKS IN 



JAMAICA. 



Details of a Voyage to the West Indies, Day by Day., and a Tour 

of Jamaica, Step by Step. 



WITH APPENDIX 



BY ALLAN ERIC. 'jr*^e*i - 
Member of THE/iNsijiTUTE of jIamaica. 

Boston, 1 896. 



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COPYRIGHT 1896, 
DY C. V.'« WILLIS. 









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PREFACE. 



(^OE years it has been my ambition to write a book of travel. From 
r childliood, foreign countries have had a great fascination for me, 
especially tropical lands. The narrative contained in this book is the 
result of my second visit to that beautiful West Indian Isle, Jamaica. 
The chaptei-s have been published in serial form, and now, in sending 
them out collectively, I can only hope that those who read them may 
find pleasure in so doing, as I found in writing them. More I cannot 
wish them, for they cannot experience the ecstacies that I enjoyed 
while traveling amid the scenes that I have endeavored to describe. 
The reader may wondei- at the title of this book— "Buckra" Landy 
"Buckra" is a word used very commonly by the black people of Jamai- 
ca, and probably it originally meant "white man."" It is generally used 
by the black people in addressing a wliite nian-or in greeting the trav- 
eler. 

TiiK Author. 

Boston Press Club, 14 Boswortli St., 
Fcbiuiiiy 25, 1896. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
Southward Bound.— A Storm at Sea.— Ocean Waves.— The Sea of Sar- 
ragossa.— The Land-fall of Columbus.— In the Bahama Sea.— Along 
the coast of Cuba.— In the Caribbean.— Jamaica, Ho ! 

CHAPTER II. 

Passing 'the Customs' Inspectors.— Riding Through the Jamaica Vil- 
lage by Moonlight.— Many Strange Sounds.— Morning Vista from 
the Verandah. — Scenes Near a Tropical Town. 



CHAPTER III. 

We Continue Our Walk Along the Beautiful Road.— The Jamaica Child- 
ren.— Wonderful Trees.— The Cocoanut Palm. 

CHAPTER IV. 

An Inspection of Jamaica Railway Extension. — The Peasantry, Men 
and Women, Their Homes and Mode of Life. 

CHAPTER V. 

We Walk Along a Pleasant Road. — Guava and Cassava Growing. — 
Water Cocoanuts. — Scenes in and About Port Antonio. — The Mar- 
kets. 

CHAPTER VI. 

An Interesting Walk. — Mangi-ove Swamps. — Myriads of Crabs and 
Lizards. — Beneath Almond Trees by the Shore.— Off for St. Ann's 
Bay. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Over the Blue Mountains.— A Wonderful Experience.— Mountain Vil- 
lages.— Coffee and Pimento Plantations.— Mt. Diabolo.— On the 
Railway. — Arrival at Kingston. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Around Kingston.- Curious Sights.— Commercial Importance of the 
City.— Port Royal.— The Soldiers of the West Indian Regiment.— 
Obtrusive Hack-Drivers. ' 

CHAPTER IX. 
By Carriage Over the Mountains.— The Environs of Kingston.— Con- 
stant Spring Sugar Plantation.— The Grand Aqueduct.— Along the 
AVag Water River.— Grand Mountain Scenery.— Strange Sights.— 
Castleton Gardens.— Noisy Bull Frogs.— Anuatto Bay. 

CHAPTER X. 
Arrival of the Coastal Steamer.— Interesting and Novel Scenes.— With 
a Dusky Boatload of Passengers We Embark for Along the Coast. 
—A Close Call.— Arrival at Port Antonio.— Tropical Rain.— A Car- 
riage Awaits Us.— "Home Again.*" 

CHAPTER XI. 

Golden Vale Banana Plantation.- Coolie Laborers.— Cutting Bananas. 
Fording the Rio Grande.— Women Washing in the River.— Guavas 
and Calabashes. — A Horseback Ride over a Precipitous Path. 

CHAPTER XII. 
Banana Plantations.- How the Fruit is Cultivated.— Cutting the Fruit. 
— Hauling to the Wharf. — Loading for Shipment. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Leaving Port Antonio.— Visit to Port Maria.— Along the Coast.- Port 
Morant and Morant Bay. — Loading the Steamer. — Novel Sights. — 
Homeward Bound. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



View in Port Autouio, Frontispiece. 

Under the Palms. 

In a Jamaica Forest. 

Cocoaunt Palms. 

Overseer's House on a Plantation. 

Jamaica Laborer's Hut. 

Kingston Harbor Front. 

Screw Palm, Public Gardens, Kingston. 

Mill on a Sugar Plantation. 

A Ruined Aqueduct. 

A Banana Tree. 

Loading Bananas at Port Antonio. 



CHAPTER I. 



Southward Bound. — A Storm at Sea. — Ocean Waves. — The 

Sea of Sarragossa. — The Land-fall of Columbus. — In 

the Bahama Sea. — Along the Coast of Cuba. 

— In the Caribbean. — Jamaica, Ho! 




p; 



)T last, my dream of five years 
to revisit Jamaica, was about 
to be realized, and this time my 
wife was to share with me the 
wonders and the beauties of the 
"Isle of Springs." 

It was Wednesday afternoon, 
October 2, 1895, that we stood on 
board the steamship Brookline, of 
the Boston Fruit Company's fleet. 
The boilers were hoarsely blow- 
ing off steam, the ensign fluttered 
from the taftrail staft", and the 
United States mail flag floated 
from the fore. The lines were 
cast oft", the plank was hauled 
ashore, and waving adieu to friends 
on the wharf, we backed out of 
the dock, swung around, and the 
engines began to pulsate, and 
(hrob and throb, until we entered 
the har])or of Voit Antonio in 
that land of i)ahns — the Princess of the Antilles. 

We had scarcely ihopijed the pilot outside Boston Light when Cap- 



12 'Buchra Land. 

tain Anderson gave orders to batten down the hatehesi and be ready 
for heavy weather. It seemed that before leaving Boston, cable re- 
ports had been received telling about a tornado which had been raising 
havoc in the Bahamas, finally centering over ^Tassua. and was sup- 
posed to be working north, following the course of the Gulf Stream. 
But we passed Highland Light and rounded Cape Cod without exper- 
iencing any uncomfortable weather. Early Thursday the weatlier was 
very comfortable, no rougher than might ordinarily be expected in the 
Gulf Stream — but later in the day, the sky was partly cloudy, the 
sea was very high and the Brookline rolled heavily. 

About noon on Friday the barometer began to fall rai)idly and the 
Captain decided to change his course, and pass further to the west- 
ward, nearer (ape Hatteras, and try to go around the approaching 
tornado which was folloAving the Gulf Stream north, so as to allow it 
to go to the eastward of us, thus avoiding a direct encounter with it. 
Thus we went nearly one hundred miles out of the direct course, only 
catching the extreme edge of the storm. In again laying the steam- 
er's course for the Bahamas, we necessarily lecrossed the Gulf Stream^ 
or nearly twice instead of once during the voyage. The stream at 
that point is about two hundred miles wide. 

During Saturday we saw some splendid examples of ocean waves, 
and I attempted to photograph some of them. Saturday afternoon we 
sighted a full rigged ship with all sails set, bound north. She dis- 
played her colors, evidently wishing to be reported. 

Sunday morning dawned cloudless ; and when we went on deck we 
found ourselves steaming across a "painted ocean," in the literal sense 
of the word. It was now very warm, and awnings had been stretched 
over the upper deck, and we found the very thinnest clothing the 
most comfortable. The breeze was soft and balmy, and the ocean a deep, 
crystal blue, of a hue never seen except in these southern latitudes, 
owing to the remarkable reflection of the sky — but more to the ex- 
treme depth of the water. Myriads of flying fish rose in flocks from 
the water and fluttered away on both sides of the ship as we steamed 
through the Saragossa sea, thinking of the memorable day when Col- 



'Buckra Land. i }• 

umbus' ship first plunged her bow into this tangled ocean meadow and 
the sailors were ready for mutiny, fearing hidden shoals. This Sara- 
gossa weed has not. a:* some fancy, anything to do with the Gulf 
Stream. Thrust away to the south by the great ocean river, it lies in a 
vast eddy or central pool of the Atlantic between the Gulf Stream and 
the Equatorial current; and here it revolves. It is a genus by itself : 
it is ocean-born, and long ages have passed since it lost its habit of 
groAving on the rocky sea-bottom. Forever floating, it feeds among its 
branches whole families of crabs, cuttle-fish and mollusks which, like 
the plant itself, are found in no other part of the world. 

Before us now, due south, we follow the health-giving sunbeams of 
the tropics, into the tranquil waters of the South Atlantic and the 
Caribbean ; the flying fish skimming from sea to sea, dip their wings 
ever and anon and plume themselves for further flights. 

At 12 o'clock, Monday, we sighted Watliug"s Island, or San Salvador, 
the first land in the New World seen by Columbus ; we ploughed a 
tranquil sea, whose surface was like a beautiful mirror, stretching away 
on all sides of us, meeting the western, eastern and northern horizons 
with a sharply defined line, and melting away into the southern sky 
in a soft azure veil. Not a ripple disturbed the tranquil surface of the 
Bahama Sea, disturbed only by long, slow, lazy undulations. 

The sun set in a flood of glorious light, a veritable tropical sunset, 
Avhich called all the passengers to the steamer's rail, where they stood 
wrapped in admiration. As is peculiar to these southern latitudes, the 
dipping of the golden ball beneath the horizon was followed almost 
immediately by darkness, there being no twilight in the tropics ; and 
we sat long under the awnings on the deck, luxuriating in the soft, 
balmy evening air as the steamer noiselessly glided through almost the 
very track followed by the caravels of Columbus more than four hun- 
dred years ago. The moon soon rose, shedding a flood of mellow 
light over the calm sea. The orb of night here loses its silver, so famed 
in Northern song and story, and shines in these lower latitudes with a 
soft, golden light. 

Just as the sun was setting we passed close by Crooked Island, on* 



.y^ 13mkra Land. 

of the beautiful verdant Bahama Islands, covered with palms and 
•other tropical trees, with white walled houses glistening amid the 
green. From the northern end of the island, extending far out into 
the sea, there is a long, low coral reef, over which, even in this quiet 
sea, the surf broke in a long fleece of foam. Near the southern end 
-of Crooked Island, connected with it by a low coral reef, is Bird Rock, 
a tiny coral "cay," on which stands a tall lighthouse tower, whose 
Jjright light was soon flashing far astern. 

The only events of the day, so gloriously ended, was the passing of a 
<bark under full sail, bound north, probably laden with logwood , and 
the seeing of a school of dolphins tumbling about the steamer's bow. 
Fortune Island we passed close a-port, but only the light .thereon was 
visible in the darkness. 

All gathered on the bridge about eight o'clock to catch the first 
;gleam of the light on Castle Island, another of the wonderful Bahamas 
that lie scattered in the sea, so famed for its coral and sponge fisheries. 
Soon it appeared far ahead, and half an hour later, when we passed it 
-closely in the darkness, the lights of a vessel at anchor appeared close 
in shore — some ship slumbering in the coral archipelago. 

We were early astir the next morning, and hurrying on deck found 
ourselves steaming along close to the Cuban shore. The lighthouse on 
■<,'ape Maysi reared its splendid, tall tower ahead. It stands on a low, 
iiat point of land, behind which rise the bold, precipitous shores of 
•<Juba, rising in a series of terraces and beetling clitts to the mountains, 
Avhich rear theii- lofty peaks in the background until lost in the fleecy 
-itlouds that drift about their summits. Now we were just leaving the 
Bahama f>ea. The Atlantic lay far to the north, and we entered the 
AVindward — or Mono — passage, up which the strong trade wind blows, 
with the green, lofty mountains of Hayti, the famed turbulent negro 
j-epublic, dimly outlined against the eastern sky. 

When we came on deck it was just sunrise, and the early morning 
l)eams falling upon the fair Island of Cuba, covered by a mantle of 
tropical verdure, caused it to light up with the combined shades of 
green, gold and purple. Wonderful light effects were produced, and 



'Buck r a Laud. i^ 

superb coloring enveloyted the fair isle as in a veil of oriental splendor. 
One curious eftect noticed is the shadow of the clouds that drift over 
the land. They cast sharply defined shadow spots on the island, which 
move along like some ever-changing dark patches of vegetation. This 
is never seen in the North, and is caused by the vertical rays of the 
sun upon the clouds. 

We are now steaming through Spanish waters, the scene of the halt- 
ing of numerous steamers by the Spanish gunboats that patrol this end 
of the Cuban coast, on the lookout for filibustering expeditions and 
shipments of arras and supplies in aid of the insurgents. 

God speed the cause of the Cuban patriots 1 They will win their in- 
dependence as they deserve to do, and damnable Spanish rule (another 
name for oppression when applied in the Spanish sense) will soon be 
at an end. 

Nearly all day we steam along the Cuban shore, so near that we can 
see the trees and even the grass without the aid of a glass. The near 
shore of this end of Cuba has a parched, barren appearance, the red- 
dish soil showing through the scant vegetation, but beyond, :;mong the 
thickly wooded mountains, alluvial valleys are seen Avhcre flourish 
rich plantations of bananas and cocoanuts. Just in on the northeast 
side, only a few miles away, lies the city of Baracoa; and the port of 
Yumuri, 1)0th famed as points of banana .shipment. It is on this end 
of the island, on the north and south sides that most ot the l)auanas 
grown in Cuba are produced. As we round the end ol the island, the 
lofty land continues to rise out of the sea, stretching away to the Avest 
for more than eight hundred miles. What a colossal island, and what 
wealth under any other than an accursed Spanish supervision I 

The immediate shore consists of perpendicular shelves and tt'i races 
of volcanic rocks and beetling clifls, with many dark caverns extend- 
ing far under the shore— washed by the ceaseless beating of the sea. 

Toward noon, as we steam along shore, the island appears to be 
divided, and the mountains are separated by a low, level stretch of 
country. Here is the most productive sugar district in Cuba. 

We left the Windward passage near noon, and entered the Caribbean 



if 6 'Buckra Land. 

-sea. It was then that we realized most fully that Ave were iu the tro- 
pics. Little clouds, anon, would come rapidly up from the east, and 
it would rain warm, tepid rain, as it rains nowhere except in the 
i;ropics. But only for a few moments, when the sun would burst forth 
as brightly as ever, and tiny rainbows would appear, first on one side 
and then on the other. One particularly beautiful bow called all 
hands to the rail in an ecstacy of delight. It was close by the steamer, 
and no longer than the Brookline, and both ends touched the water but 
a few feet away. Remembering the fable-legend that a pot of gold is 
supposed to be buried where the end of a rainbow touches the earth, 
my wife made the pretty remark fchat there must be two sunken Span- 
ish galleons here, laden with gold doubloons. 

Late in the afternoon tlie mountains of Jamaica loomed up directly 
ahead, clothed with luxuriant verdure from foot to crest, the latter 
showing many sharp outlines and peaks. Viewed from any point, 
Jamaica, in point of scenery and verdure, is surpassed by no island in 
the world. Its volcanic origin gives a grandeur and sharpness to the 
outlines of the mountains wliich is quite unique ; terrace after terrace 
of mountains upon mountains, clothed with banana, palm, orange and 
lime trees, rent here and there by fissures caused by the floods of the 
tropical rains, extend from the seashore to the Blue Mountains. 

'I'he moon arose out of the tropical waters, glanced across the blue 
<"aribbean, and shot its silver an-ow upon the Princess of the Antilles. 
The breeze blowing from the land brought with it a spicy, aromatic odor. 
Lights gleamed amid the veidure along shore and far up on the moun- 
tain sides, marking the habitations of the people ; and as one might 
imagine, amid the sensations of approaching some beautiful dream- 
land, we steamed iu, by the red light on Folly Point, by the coral reef, 
and into the beautiful harbor of Port Antonio, the Jamaica headquar- 
tei-s of the Boston Fruit ( o., the lights of this flourishing, busy Jamaica 
town, the greatest banana shipping port in the world— made so by 
Massachusetts and Boston enterprise and capital— glittering about us 
-on shore. 

Our voyage, so pleasant, so wonderful, was at an end, and it was not 



'Buckra Land. ij 

without a pano; of regret that Ave heard the rattle of the chain as it 
spun through the liawse hole, as the anchor plunged to the bottom, and 
the Brookliue, her engines silent, swung around, and we waited a few 
moments oft' shore for the health and customs offlcers to come along- 
side. 



"^^ 



CHAPTER II. 

Passing the Customs' Inspectors.— Riding Through the Jamaica 
Village by Moonlight. — Many Strange Sounds. — Morn- 
ing Vista from the Verandah. — Scenes near 
a Tropical Town. 



Y^NEVER shall we forget that pleasant voyage, or our regret at 
Ay leaving the Brookline, which had been i^o homelike and pleas- 
ant. To the Boston Fruit (.'ouipany must be given the credit of 
most carefully providing for the comfort and pleasure of its passen- 
gers, and of surrounding them with every comfort and every neces- 
sary luxury. From the time one sets foot on board he is most care- 
fully cared for and his wants almost anticipated. The table is 
always attractively spread and filled with a good variety of well- 
prepared food. The staterooms are large, well ventilated, neat and 
pleasant, with luxurious berths and a couch beside. Each has running 
water and a patent wash bowl. The saloon is large with a high ceiling, 
handsomely decorated and furnished, Avith comfortable chairs and 
divans. The steamers are provided each with two large bath rooms — one 
for ladies and one for gentlemen — with hot water and cold Kea tmtery 
so one may enjoy bathing in sea water throughout the voyage. On the 
hurricane deck there is a large, pleasant smoking room, with couches, 
chairs and tables, and a broad stairway leads to it from the saloon. 
As soon as warm latitudes are reached awnings are stretched over the 
deck, which makes the voyage most delightful. The steamers, below 



'Buckra Land. ig 

aud on deck, are scrupulously neat and clean. Unlike most transpor- 
tation companies the Boston Fruit Company does not lose all interes- 
in its passengers the moment they are landed at the port of destination, 
but during- their stay in the neighborhood of their estates they 
extend such fi-ee hospitality as was never equalled. 

But to return to the close of the voyage. As soon as the Brookline 
was made fast to the wharf we found that we were not to be without a 
cordial welcome, for my good friend E. B. Hopkins came on board with 
a hearty liaud,-s1iake, aud as we went down the gang-plank Mr. Joshua 
Baker, also of the Company, welcomed us once more to the Isle of 
Springs. A carnage was waiting to take us to the Titchfield House, 
which Avas to Ije our home while in Port Antonio. Our baggage had 
meanwhile been sent ashoie, and with my proverbial good nature I 
opened it cheerfully, not without some feeling of pride at my exten- 
sive outtit, which had cost me quite a number of large, white American 
dollars — only to have the courteous Inspector of her Majesty's Customs, 
Mr. Murray, after examining it, remark that I could pass, as there 
seemed to be '•nothing of extraordinary value." However, I forgive 
him, as it might have been worse. 

Then we drove away through the narrow, crooked, and to me fami- 
liar streets of Port Antonio, toward "the house." 

It A\ as a beautiful moonlight evening, and the soft tropical sky was 
thickly studded Avith stars, which shone with a brightness and splendor 
unknown in the north. The moon shone upon the glistening, gently 
swaying leaves of the palm trees, casting soft shadows upon the white 
houses beneath. 

Nocturnal insects filled the ear with strange ai'd almost countless 
sounds as we rolled up the hill and the carriage stopped before the 
house so familiar to me as the spot whei-e I had passed so many jjleasant 
hours five years ago — and it seemed almost like getting home again. 
Indeed I shall not soon forget the delight whidi 1 tVlt as I realized 
that I was really once more among the scenes that, loi- live long years, 
had remain(!d pictured in my mind as a dream rather than an actual 
reality. We were given a large, ph-asant room, and amid tlic novel 



20 'Buckra Land. 

sounds, the soft imirmur of the breeze through the pahns, the hum of 
insects, interjected now and then by one particularly noisy cricket, 
which makes a sound for all the world like the click of the shears in 
the hands of a barber, we were soon in another dreamland. 

The next morning we were early astir. Our room opened diiectly 
upon the wide verandah, and my wife lost no time in going out to ob- 
tain lier first view of the tropics. The picture which lay spread out 
before us from the verandah that bright morning was one which can 
never be forgotten, and one beyond the power of tongue or pen to 
descril>e. The house itself stands in the rear of a garden filled with 
beautiful tropical shrubs, many colored crotons and other plants, while 
at one end there is a spreading almond tree, and near the other a beau- 
tiful Royal palm. Directly in front of the house, across the road, are 
seveiiil tall cocoanut palms, while immediately in fiont there are 
several mango trees and a beautiful, spreading tamarind and giant 
white and pink oleanders, almost trees in size. Away to the left, half 
a mile or so distant, the blue Caribbean stretclied away, glorious in 
the bright sunlight, the foregiound dotted l)y those ever i)resent grace- 
ful trees, the cocoanut palms. 

'J'o the light beyond the village, the tall peaks of the verdant Blue 
Mountains loomed grandly up, with light flet-cy clouds of vapor float- 
ing al)out their sunuuits and the passes of tlie range. 

Great buzzards, or "John Crows," with great red heads and large 
beaks, and wrinkled red necks, sailed overhead or perched upon the 
leaves of the palm trees or the corrugated iron roofs of the houses — 
sometimes standing with one great wing extended straight out fiom the 
body while the other remained folded, keeping this strange position as 
long as we watched them and I do not know how much longer — for 
what reason only the John Crows know. But they are most useful 
birds, great scavengers feeding ui)on carrion and scraps, contributing 
to the health of this beautiful country. 

Immediately after breakfast we went out first of all, for a walk — to 
view leisurely the beauties around us. We walked down through 
the village and followed a lovely road which was a favo)ite walk of 



Tiuckra LaiiJ. 21 

mine Avhon here before. It leads in a southerlj^ direction, and is the 
road to Red Hassel and Golden Vale plantations, erosiJin<j; a t'my stream 
which flows across the road, and is spanned bj- a narroAV loot bridfje. 
Alonji' the roadside are crowded in the most luxuriant profusion a vei i- 
table tangle of tropical trees, plants and flowers. Al)ove us are tall ackee 
trees, the rich, nai-row, dark green leaves besprinkled with fhe bright 
scarlet fruits, something the shape of red peppers, and containing large 
black seeds. Properly prepared by experienced hands, this is a most 
delicious fruit — while if wrongly prepared, it is poisonous. 

Native men, women and children were scattered along the road, bound 
for the village, some with loads of yams, bananas, i)lautains. water- 
cocoannts, bread-fruit, and tanuiersor "cocco" as it is called here, great 
loads ill liaskets and trays upon their heads — and some with diminutive 
donkeys with panniers or "hampers"' slung across their backs, filled 
with i)roduce until the load was larger than the donkey — Avhile now and 
then a donkey would carry an iimnense load of guinea grass, the 
patient little beast hinisell ahnost whollj' concealed — only his hind legs 
and tail being visible lioiu behind, his long head with its serious-look- 
ing face and long ears in sight when coming toward us. Frecpiently 
the load would be top]ied by a native woman sitting astride the donkey's 
shoubieis. lier big l)lackfeet. each twice the size of the donkey's ears, 
stickin-i nut on either side, ilany men, women and children carried, 
balanced u])on their heads, long sugar canes, while they wore meander- 
ing along chewing a joint of it for the sweet juice, and swingiiig in the 
other band the ever present machete. 



CHAPTER III. 

We Continue Our Walk Along the Beautiful Road.— The Jamaica 
Children.— Wonderful Trees.— The Cocoanut Palm. 



^?^HIS l)(':iutiful roiid wound .ilong the foot of the hills, that rose to 
Vi/ loftj' heights above us, covered with the thickest of vegetation. 
On the left, first we passed a stretch of flat, marshy land on either 
side of the mouth of a small river, which was covered by a tall growth 
of wild cane — Avhose beautiful light biowu i)lumes gently waved in the 
light morning breeze. Here and there, sometimes- clustered together 
and sometimes alone beneath the banana and jDalm trees, we passed the 
native houses, slightly constructed of light poles driven in the ground, 
the walls composed of woven cane and bamboo, the pyramidal roofs 
being of thatch — either of palm or banana leaves. 

Often Ave came to a little native store, merely a little thatched hut 
like the others, but with the front open to the road, where were ex- 
posed for sale plantains, cocoanuts, sugar-cane, bread-fruit, oranges 
and loaves of bread. 

Tall cocoanut palms and many other tropical trees, bread fruit and 
tamarind, overhung the road, as we passed through a bower of tropic 
beauty ; and every little turn in the road brought another lofty hill 
into view immediately before us, crowned with the ever present palm 
trees. By the side of the road, that loveliest flower of the island, the 
ginger lily, bloomed and shed its sweet, penetrating perfume about us. 
There are two varieties of the ginger lily, that we saw, one white and 



^uchra Land. 



2i 



one a lemon color. The blossoms are alike in each, except in color, 
and, as far as I could notice, the pei-fume is the same. 

At one place a dense thicket proved to be of coffee trees---with dark, 
shining pointed leaves, with green and pink — ripe coffee berries crowded 
thickly at their axils. A black woman with a "hankra"" or basket was 
picking the ripe berries and as we passed she paused long enough in 
her work to salute us with a "marnin' Marsa," and "maruin" Missis." 

Here and there a cluster of slender yam vines with large, dark leaves, 
entwined a great tree trunk whose branches were loaded with pine- 
apple orchids and other parasitic or air plants, and great creepers hung 
from the limbs higher up, forming festoons of great tendrils. 

At one point Ave saw some cocoa trees, with great cucumber-shaped 
pods hanging from the trunks and large branches. These pods, a 
bright pink and yellow when ripe, contain dark brown seeds from which 
the chocolate and cocoa of commerce are made. Here and there along 
this wonderful road the thickets were interspersed with logwood trees, 
with occasionally one of fustic. Anon, beyond a patch of wild cane a 
tall trumpet tree reared its small tubelike, almost white trunk, support- 
ing at its top a small, flat head. 

Xow and then we passed the tiny thatched houses of the people, each 
with its small '-provision ground" or garden, in which grew sugar cane, 
bananas and yams. 

What interested us greatly as we walked along were the diildren. 
In this beautiful AVest Indian isle the native black and brown children 
are even more interesting lliau their fathers and motliors, which is the 
oase in many other countries. 

These dusky small people seem to ))e always good natuied, and look 
at strangers from big, diirk eyes apparently as full of wonder as are 
those of the traveller as he gazes upon tlie lovely ti-opical l.iud scape of 
their island home. 

It is the custom of Jamaica black people to always greet a stranger, 
whether on the road or about their simple thatched dwellings, with a 
friendly "marnin" marsa" — or "missis," or "evenin", marsa" — f)r 
"missis," or else it is "maruin" buckra," the last. word meaning "white 



2 A ^uckra Land. 



muu. 



So the little tots, alino^l as soon as they are able to walk, fol- 
low the example of their eUlcs. nn.l if they meet a stranger by the road- 
side they stop, and perhaps as they put a tiny brown finger to their 
mouths, give hiui a friendly greeting in a very small voice-which must 
always be acknowledged or these small persons are very muc-h offended. 
There is no baby more cunning or more interesting than the .Jamaica 
baby, with its big, dark eyes, its tiny, round, dusky face anil little 
brown hands. And it is a much petted ohild-the idol of its father and 
mother. As soon as it has grown strong enough it accompanies its 
.nother everywhere, generally sitting astride her hips, supported in its 
place by one arm of its mother and by its own tiny hands which clutch 
desperately her scanty dress, while its head bobs about from side to 
side and the wondering eyes ga/.e at you with an expression of the ut- 
most seriousness. 

When at home, the .Jamaica child is often seen sitting on the ground 
lieneath the palm trees, by the door of the thatched house of its parents, 
sometimes in vidn trying to conceal a whole lianana in the small mouth, 
or else industriously sucking a joint of sugar cane. The young child of 
our own I'ountry is often hired to "be a good baV)y" with a lump of 
sugar or a piece of candy. The .Jamaica mother peels a piece of .luicy 
cane, puts it into her baby-s hand and goes away to her washing, to 
picking cotVee, to hoeing yams, or to roasting bread fruit and tanniers— 
the l)aby, meanwhile, perhaps falling asleep with one small hand clutch- 
ing the sv.eet morsel. 

Almost as soon as the Jamaica children can talk they will supi)lement 
their greetings to the traveller witli a request for a -quattie," which is 
a penny ha-peuny, or three cents, and sometimes several of them will 
trot along for miles after you until the coveted nickel coins are tossed 
to them, when their faces will light uj) with joyous smiles and they 
drop you a courtesy in return. 

It is the universal custom of the i)eople to carry everything, of what- 
ever name or nature, from the smallest to the biggest article, on their 
heads, and by constant practice from childhood, they are able to i-arry 
enormous loads, trudging for miles over the hills and along the roads 




riioiogriipli by the Author. 
INDKK TIIK I'AKMS. 



^uckra Land. 2^ 

with great burdens of oranges, bananas, yams, cocoanuts and bread- 
fruit in trays, the loads often being so heavy that they are unable to 
either put them on or remove them from their heads without assistance. 

So tiny children are often met carrying articles upon their heads, vei-y 
small burdens at first, the loads gradually increasing in weight, until 
when fi-om eight to twelve years old, they will carry more than they 
can lift upon their heads unassisted. 

It is interesting to see a crowd of children walking along together, 
the girls usually with burdens, the boys more often with nothing, with 
scanty clothing, bare feet and bare heads, trudging along, laughing, 
continually chatting, and looking from side to side, turning their bodies 
and apparently tot;illy oblivious of the loads l)alanced upon their heads. 
They walk with a peculiar, graceful motion, with scarcely any pei'cep- 
tible movement of the body above the waist. 

They do not differ materially from other children while going on 
errands or set to any task ; for they frequently remove their loads be- 
neath some spreading bread ft-uit or almond tree, and sit down to play 
or talk, or to make short side trips in pursuit of none l)ut themselves 
know what, or to wade in some shallow strean». 

Totally oblivious of a greater world than their own tropic isle, they 
are always good natured, always happy, rarely (juarrelsome, and their 
friendly greetings to strangers cause one to carry away pleasant recol- 
lections of these small tropical people. 

As the cocoanut palm is the most typical tropical tree, I will devote a 
brief portion of this chapter to a description of it. When full grown it 
has a cylindrical stem al)out two feet in diameter near the bottom, where 
it bulges in a bottle shajjc — with numy rings marking IIk- placi>s of 
former leaves. 

The leaves are in a cluster at the toj) of the tree, curving (lo\vnA\ard, 
and are from twelve to thirty feet in length. The trunk of the cocoa- 
nut tree, when full grown, averages from sixty to one hundred fi'Ot 
high. The nuts grow in short racemes, which bear, in favorable local- 
ities, from five to fifteen nuts, and ten to twelve of these racemes in 
difterent stages may be seen at once on a tree, about eighty or one 



26 'Buckra Land. 

hundred nuts being its ordinary annual yield, though on the road above 
described we saw near the Boston Fruit t'o's Red Hassel banana planta- 
tion, cocoanut trees which could not have had less than two hundred 
nuts on each. 

A cocoanut tree bears in from seven to eight years from the germin- 
ating of the nut, and continues producing from seventy to eighty years — 
sometimes for a century. It defies storms and hurricanes, and its grace- 
ful form, with its evergreen foliage, towering above all other trees, with 
its leaves swayed to and ft-o by every breeze, makes it a conspicuous 
feature, not only along the coast, but in localities not far inland. In 
developing a cocoanut plantation, land is selected as near the sea as 
possible, for the cocoanut tree flourishes best near salt water. The 
planting is done by taking the young sprouts, or germinated nuts, and 
placing them in holes dug in the ground, about twenty or twenty-flve 
feet apart each way. The plantation then needs but little attention. It 
begins to bear nuts in from seven to eight years. When the nuts are 
ripe they are gathered by the natives, who climb the tree, going up, as 
it were, "on all fours," clasping their arms al)out the trunk, and cling- 
ing with their toes to the knots left by previous leaves. Reaching the 
top the native sits astride the bases of the great leaves at the crown, 
selects those nuts that are ripe and throws them to the ground. 

The blossom of the cocoanut palm is very beautiful, and a peculiar 
work of Nature's art. Appearing at the base of the long ragged leaves, 
it is a long, pod-like sheath, green in color, standing erect until its own 
weight causes it to bend downward, where it hangs until the stems it 
incloses, which are to bear the nuts, are sutticiently matured to proceed 
in their growth without further protection. When this outer covering 
splits, it reveals a cluster of ragged stems, upon each of which will be 
found miniatuie cocoanuts, Avhich require about fourteen months to 
mature and ripen. The cocoanut palm is certainly one of the most useful 
trees on the globe— and as the voyager enters the tropics, he is first made 
aware that he is in the region of romance, by the cocoanut palms. 

There are other palm trees, too, in Jamaica, among which is the oil 
palm (in limited numbers), called "macca fat"" by the people there, the 



'^Kckra Land. 



27 



■word *Mii:ieca" iudicatiug- the great thorns which grow on the trunk, 
and "fat," of course referring to the oil which the tree produces ; and 
■occasionally a Royal palm, and in the more elevated country, cabbage 
•.-and sago palms are quite plentiful. 



-#=- 



CHAPTER IV. 



An Inspection of Jamaica Railway Extension. — The Peasantry^, 
Men and Women, Their Homes and Mode of Life. 



T TigUTH a double-buggy, a pair of horses and a driver, geneixnijily 
\J\y placed at our disposal by the Boston Fruit Co., we started one^ 
inoruiug to inspect the new extension of the Jamaica Kailway, wliich 
connects Port Antonio with Kingston, via Annato Hay — first stopping 
to inspect the ice-nialiing plant where, by means of the most motient, 
and improved machinery, and tlie '^ammonia process," pure artificial 
ice, as clear as crystal, is rapidly manufactured beneath an eternal trop- 
ical sun. Not only is it a blessing, but a luxury greatly appreciated, 
especially by visitors from the cool north. 

AVe passed the Port Antonio station and terminus of the extension — 
a tasteful structure erected by the American contractors. Where the 
station stands was formerly a reeking moras. The land Mas drained, 
filled in with l)roken stone, as indeed, was the case with the entire ter- 
minal property of the railway. Skirting the extensive and magnificent 
Bound Brook cocoanut estate of the Boston Fruit Co., and pausing for- 
a short stroll beneath the palms bj^ the shore, we drove along the line, 
watching the operations of cutting, grading, filling in, and landing of 
construction materials on the spot. Along the way we found rnucli to>. 
interest us in many strange tropical trees, plants and flowers. Banana 
trees grew almost everywhere by the roadside, their l)road, long shining- 
leaves gently waving in the soft breeze. As we skirted the side of a 



'Buckra Laud. ig 

precipitous liill intu wliich the railway line has been (.■ut, we had a most 
maji'nifii'eut view of the Caribbean, and of the coast to the westward. 

The openiuji; of this extension to the railway brings to Port Antonio, 
as the most business-like place on the island, the additional presti.ne 
whic-h it deserves: and particularly is it a lioon to visitors from the 
United States who tiiid it most desirable to go from liostou, landing 
at Port Antonio; they ;'.re now able to go to Kingston, passing enroute 
through the "garden" districts of the island and the maguirtcent scenery 
of the ]>lue Mountains, skirting the shore for miles — now close to the 
water and, anon, clinging to an almost perpendicular mountain side. 
along which the road v, inds like a tiny white silk thread, dashing over 
viaducts spanning lagoons or coves of the sea. or over rushing moun- 
tain streams — every now and then i)lunging into a tunnel beneath the 
verdant mountains covered with tropical gi'cen. 

This extension begin-^ at a point Jiine miles northeast of l>og Walk, 
above Kingston, and runs to Port Antonio, via Annato Bay, a distance 
of 46 miles, and was cairied out by an American lirm: it is very heavy, 
having 24 tunnels, i'lii- line runs through llie fruit regions of .lamaica, 
and the hauling of that produce will constitute much of the tratlic of 
the line. The original .lamaica Railway ("o. \\as incorporated in 1843 to 
build a line from Kingston to Spanish Town, 12 miles. This was opened 
for traffic in November. 1854, and an extension to Old Harbor. 11 miles 
dista.nt, was opened on July 1. 1869. In 1877 the 'jtovernmeut of 
.Jamaica bought the line from the controlling comi)any and made nniny 
iinprovenients in road bed and e(piipment. The permanent way was 
relaid and ballasted, steel rails were substiiuled for iron, old woodcji 
bridges and draws were replaced by 29 bridges with concrete abutments 
and wing walh. and wrought iron suijerstructures, and six new arches 
were l)uilt of concrete. Five new stations w(>re also liuili . In Deeem- 
ber, 1881. a contract was given out for the extension of tlie line fi-oin 
Old Harbor to Porus. iM 1-2 miles, and in ibe following .January the 
work of construction l.egan. This line was oiiened for traflic in 3Iarch. 
1885. The branch from Spanish Town to Kwarton, 14 1-2 miles, was 
afterwards built and opejunl in August, 1885. 



JO 'Buckra Land. 

In 1889 the West India Improvement Company was formed to pur- 
<;hase the raihvaj' from the Government of Jamaica, and on January 1, 
1S90, the company formally took possession. 'I'he w ork of extending 
the line was inniiediately begun, and in January, 1891, the line was 
opened for traffic 12 1-2 miles from Porus, and in March, 1892, trains 
were running on 18 more miles. In 1894 the laihvay was finished to 
Moutego Bay. The main line from Kingston t<j Montego Bay is 105 1-2 
miles long. The Port Antonio extension passes through a hilly, moun- 
tainous and very broken country, and heavy work was encountered in 
the construction— with the exception of about twenty miles along the 
•coast— necessitating tunnels and viaducts. About ninety-eight bridges 
i>re required and many arch culverts. The bridges and viaducts are of 
*teel, and the masonry of English Portland cement. 

All the stone for ballasting this road is the soft, calcareous rock 
l)roken by the women— and nearly all of it, as well as the grading 
materials, was carried and distribvited along the line by the women, in 
tiays and baskets upon their heads. 

1 cannot omit to mention somewhat at length the people of Jamaica— 
the common people, or peasants, if I may make use of the latter term 
lu this connection. I refer to the laboring people, as we met them 
whenever wo travelled along the roads and in the little villages. These 
people arc very simple in their habits and mode of life, the country 
l)eople living in small huts, made of poles driven into the earth, a few 
inches ai)art. the intervening spaces being interwoven with cane. The 
roof is conical in shape, made of bamboo and thatched with palm or 
plantain leaves, 'i'hese people have a peculiar custom in connection 
with the erection of a new dwelling, which is an important event with 
them. After a site for a new abode has been selected, which is sreuer- 
ally located in or near a grove of trees, poles are driven down a few 
feet apart into the ground. The four walls of the prospective dwelling 
generally take the form of nearly a perfect square. After the poles are 
<lriven for the sides, the roof is put on, which is done by lashing one 
bamboo to another which are fastened to the top of the upright stakes, 
where the eaves of the hut are to be. The bamboos are brought from 




From all ()i iyiiial I'lioiograiili. 
IN A JAMAICA I'OHK.ST. 



'Buckra Land. ^r 

the tops of the polos to au apex, where they are fastened securely to- 
gether. The frame eompleted, the roof is thatched, making a shelter 
alike impervioijs to rain and heat. Here the l)uildiug operations are 
very likely to rest; but the uncompleted condition of his house does 
not deter the Jamaican fiom celebrating the event Avith great ceremony. 
He begins by lashing two bamboos to each of the two corners of the 
hut, wliich serve as flag-stalls. 

He also drives small poles into the gi'ound round about in the neigh- 
borhood of his new house. He then procures a number of flags, it 
matters not Avhether English, French, or what-not, also pieces of red or 
yellow cloth, which he fastens to the flag staffs in front of the hut and 
to the poles set in the ground. Then some flne evening he invites all 
his friends and acquaintances to assist in tlie house-warming. Scores 
of dark men and dusky women whirl in the "fandango" to the music <>f 
a violin and the beating of a drum in the hands of black musicians, the 
festivities sometimes lasting until the palm-covered mountains begin to 
glow with the first rays of the early morning sun : varying the enter- 
tainjuent by feasting, upon the water of the green cocoanut, etc., with 
some yams and phnitJiins roasted in the embers of the jubilee fiie. it 
is a strange sight. 

The peasant woman is deserving of special consideration. Her house- 
hold cares are few, for her home consists of a simple roof of a few feet 
square, thatched witli ])alm and plantain leaves, but sometMues all sides 
are left open. The little homes of the laboring people arc sometimes in 
communities of two or three houses, again in villages of a s«'ore or 
more; but more often, perhaps, singly. A few simple dishes, a rougli 
bench or two suflice to furnish these homes. Such a thing as a cooking 
or any other stove is unknown and not included in the wants of the 
woman who presides over one of these humble home*, for in this climate 
of perpetual summer no artificial heat is ever rerjuired. .mkI all simple 
cooking is done in the open air. Two forked sticks drivt'ii into the 
ground behind the hut, a bamboo laid across from which an inm pot is 
suspended, answers all requirements. With a few stones sli<> con- 
structs a circular inclosure beneath the pot, lights a fiie of sticks which 



j2 "Buckra Land, 

she picks up and brings; on her head, and boils the yams, which form a 
staple article of diet ; while a few plantains and bread-fruits roast in 
the ashes at the edge of the fire. Without the dusky woman the "pro- 
vision ground" or vegetable garden about the huts would be overgrown 
with weeds. She plants the yams and trains the vines up the poles, 
keeps the patch of plantains and bananas free from weeds, and sees 
that nothing retards the growth of the stalks of sugar cane that are 
always growing by the doorway. Not only this, but she earns an 
honest shilling or sixpence breaking stone with which to macadamize 
the roads ; and the traveller, as he rides along, sees dozens of women 
sitting upon heaps of the white calcareous stone peculiar to the isbmd. 
The Jamaica uuiles and the black women ha\c <nery reason to com- 
miserate each other upon their lot. 

Saturdays the Jamaica l)lack woman varies her duties by going to 
market, carrying a heavy load of plantains, yams, bananas, oranges, 
limes, breadfruit, cocoanuts and avacado, or "alligator" pears. It is an 
interesting and curious sight to see the women on Saturday, trudging 
along the winding roads, up hill and down, fording the streams with 
huge loads of produce balanced upon their heads. They usually walk 
in groups or in single file, scattered along the road lor miles, and heiuled 
for the ne:irest village. 

Often the loads upon their heads are so heav>- that they can neither 
place them there nor remove them without help; and when a party of 
women stop to rest, as they often do, they hel)) one another lift the 
loads ui)on their heads and take them ott" again. Whenever we met a 
party of women they invariably stopped while we i)assed. and gave us 
a graceful I'ourtesy — after which they would resume their rapid, pecul- 
iar walk. These women invariably possess elegant figures of Xature's 
best develoi)ment. They are unimpeded by an over-supply of clothing, 
which consists of a simi)le skirt, caught up half way to the knee, and 
fastened just below the waist by a cord tied around the body. m:iking a 
large putt' of the surplus goods gathered l)elow tlic waisi. They go 
barefoot, are as straight as arrows, perfectly ereci. and walk with a 
peculiar graceful, swinging motion which is due to (lie fact that owing 



'Buck I'd Land. ^^ 

'tw the eustoin of carrying loads upon their heads, they do not move the 
iKHiy above the hips, in walking; and their carriage is easy ;tnd lithe. 
How these women are able to keep the enormous load perfectly bal- 
ainiid upon their heads is a constant source of w'onder to the traveller — 
for the}- will turn their heads and look from side to side, talk and laugh, 
and even chew sugar-cane without disturbing the equilibrium of their 
4o:ids. The extreme!? to which the practice of carrying everything upon 
the head is carried, is often highly amusing, and in the villages I have 
seen women going rapidly along the street with a cup and saucer, a cake 
•of .••oaj). and even a spool of cotton thread upon their heads, while 
tlieir hands were swinging along by their sides, unemployed. 

I )ri\ing through the country we often came to a little stream which 
flowed across the road, and here would l)e a numl)er of women washing 
*'lothes. With their skirts tucked up Hl)ont their hijis, they stand by the 
«tlge of the stream and force the dirt from the clothes by laying them 
■on flat stones and beating them with flat wooden paddles ; then the 
vlothes are spread out on the grass, or roclcs. or hung upon some bushes 
mear In- to dvv. 



CHAPTER V. 

We Walk Along a Pleasant Road. — Guava and Cassava Grow- 
ing. — Water Cocoanuts. — Scenes in and About 
Port Antonio. — The Markets. 



©XE aftenioou we walked along the road leadiug out toward Goldei* 
Vale banana plantation — my wife wishing to take photographs 
of some unique seenes along this wonderful road. So we left the car- 
riage behind that day and started along on foot. Stopping to rest 
beneath the shade of some banana trees, and feeling hot and thirsty, we- 
saw a little black girl coming along the road with a tray of "water- 
cocoanuts" on her head. The "water-oocoanuf is thoroughly typical 
of the tropics. It is the gieen, unripe nut, when its interior contains- 
little but pure, limpid water, which is (juite cool, very refreshing and 
delicious. Clinging to the interior of the shell there is a thin layer of 
white .jelly, which may be scooped out with a spoon. It has a delicate- 
flavor, though it is so rich that I could eat but very little at a time with- 
out feeling a sickish sensation. The natives gather these greten, or 
'•water cocoanuts," and with the machete cut ofi" most of the husk — 
leaving it white, and oblong in shape. With the nuichete, that indis- 
pensable companion of every black, one end of the nut is clipped oft^ — 
just enough to make a small hole, perhaps an inch in diameter, in the 
end of the shell. Then place the lips around the orifice, tip back your 
head and shut your eyes, and allow this delicious refreshing nectar toh 



"Buckra Land. ^^ 

gurgle down your throat. This little black girl Caine along, and slop- 
ing her, I asked the price of the nuts. 

"Two fo' quattie. sah." 

"Two for what y" 

"Quattie." 

I did not know how much a "quattie" was, so I took from my pocket 
a handful of change — perhaps ten shillings in silver and the colonial 
nickel cuius— and held them toward her and asked her to pick out a 
"quattie." 

Her eyes bulged as they rested upon this, to her probably, untold 
wealth (but to me, alas), for she uttered a subdued "o 0!" and 
picked out a penny ha'penny, equivalent to three cents. Taking the 
tray from her head she selected two lai-ge nuts and handed them to me. 
I asked her if she had a machete. 

"Com" arn mai-sa — man down road wi' cutlass," she replied. 

We followed her along the road for a few rods till we came to where 
a black man was working on the edge of the Red Hassel banana plan- 
tation. The little girl, in the native jargon, solicited his services in 
cutting the ends oft" the cocoanuts, and taking each, he held It in one 
hand, dexterously, at one blow clipped oft" the end and passed it to us. 
After we had drunk as much as we could— for in a good-sized nut there 
is more water than niost people would care to drink at one time — the 
black man took them and sjjlit them longitudinally with his machete. 
One of them I gave to him, and from the two halves of the other we 
scooped out the delicate, white jelly. The black n)an seemed to con- 
sider himself well paid for his trouble and ate the Jelly with great 
apparent satisfaction ; but I gav<! him a three-pennj- ])iece which pro- 
voked a smile from him which lighted up the whole plantation. 

I tried my hand at ])hotograi)hy, jind took my wife in difterent 
positions beneath the palm and banana trees — uiucIj to the amusement 
of several native women who gather<'d about to watch the ()])erat ion. 
So interested were they that 1 had hard work to l^ecp them out of the 
line of focus, so eager were they to have their "likenesses" taken. 

Pausing to take frequent photographs, we conthiued our M'alk, also 



^6 'Buckra Land. 

stopping liequently to examine some curious or interesting trees, some 
of which we photographed. Orange trees we frequently saw, some 
with green, some with ripe fruit, and some with fruit in all stages of 
development. 

'Hie anuotto trees interested us greatly with the clusters of reddish, 
heart-shaped,- fuzzy pods— some of the trees having beautiful blossoms 
of the combined colors, pink and lavender. This is the tree which 
produces the annato of commerce, so much employed in the manufac- 
ture of coloring for butter and largely used by the honest New England 
farmers who go to the legislature and request that the people be not 
"humbugged" with olemargarine. 

Perhaps we saw no plant which gave us more astonishment, or 
proved to be more interesting than the cassava, or manioc, the root of 
which produces tapioca. It somewhat resembles a large lily, but is 
very tall, perhaps three or four feet, with broad, coarsely ribbed 
leaves at the ends of long, fleshy leaf stalks which spring from a 
common point at the root. 

Fi-equently we refreshed ourselves with the guava, a most delicious 
and refreshing fruit, which grows on a medium sized tree, and looks 
very attractive loaded with fruit. From it the guava jelly which we 
buy at the fancy grocery stores in the North is made. 

A favorite walk of ours during those pleasant days at Port Antonio 
was down the slope toward the shore, and across a broad grassy plaza 
dotted here and there with cocoanut palms, to the old fort which stands 
on a bluft' overlooking the sea. This old stone fortification dates from 
the early English occupation of the island. It is now a crumbling 
ruin, and the fissures in its ancient walls and the vines clambering over 
theui furnish refuge for the brilliant little green lizards that flash and 
scintillate in the bright sunlight. Within the crumbling walls the 
heavy smoothbores stand still mounted on their carriages, with their 
rusty muzzles pointing out toward the coral reef at the entrance of the 
harbor. Eaten with rust as they are, the "broad-arrow"' is still plainly 
discernable upon them. Many other guns are scattered about or sit 
deep into the ground at the entrance of the plaza. The great stone 



^uckra Land. 



37 



barracks where the garrison was once quartered is now used as a public 
school. The voices of the children saying their lessons are now heard 
where once resounded the songs of the soldiers, and the grassj' plot 
enclosed by the walls of the fort now serves as a tennis court for the 
elite of Port Antonio. 

Port Antonio itself is a most interesting village. It nestles in a 
beautiful valley between the mountains and the shore, and looks very- 
pretty with its white houses contrasting with the intense tropical 
green. It has one main street running through it, and numerous 
others leading from it. Most of the shops are built of wood, but some 
of the larger business structures are of stone or brick. The smaller 
stores, and some of the larger ones, have their fronts entirely open 
during business hours — and many of the smaller ones are raised several 
feet from the street, so, in entering them, quite a flight of steps has to 
be climbed. In them, one can purchase almost everything of ordinary 
usefulness, dry goods, etc., being mostly imported from England,while 
food articles, agricultural supplies, boots and shoes, etc., nearly all 
come from the United States. It is very interesting to walk along and 
notice the smaller shops. Many of them, mere shanties, bear high 
sounding names — and one, I remember, was proclaimed as the "White 
House."' In some of them there were dusky tailors running sewing 
machines, and in others shoemakers. Most of the shops are kept by 
Jamaicans, but some of the largest grocery and provision stores are 
kept by Chinese. I have already described the small, thatched huts 
of the natives, and noAv let me speak of the houses of the upper classes, 
white people, English and Americans, They are mostly built of wood, 
though some are of stone or brick, roomy and airy, often with wide 
verandahs extending around them. 

They have windows, and are provided with "jalousies," a kind of 
wooden, massive immovable blind which permits a fi-ee circulation of 
air and eftectually keeps out intruders — though, of all countries in the 
world, I believe Jamaica is the freest of robbers and house-breakers. 
The rooms are separated by light partitions, which extend only about 
three-quarters of the way to the ceiling or roof, for purposes of venti- 



j8 ^nchra Land, 

latiou jiiid the circulation ot air. Many of the jesidences are surrounded 
by beautiful gardens, and one of these gardens in Port .\ntouio con- 
tains sixty-eight varieties of crotous, and many varieties of the gor- 
geous hibiscus. 

On almost every roof one sees the ever present ''John Crow" stretch- 
ing forth its wings and craning its homely neck about, looking for 
food. 

Particularly is Port Antonio interesting on Saturdays, for this is 
market day — when the streets are full of peo])le, Jamaicans and 
Coolies — all moving about, talking, selling and buying. There is a 
large public market, a good sized structure open on all sides, sur- 
rounded by an iron fence, and covered with corrugated iron. The 
interior is divided by long counter-like structures, certain parts being 
set off for certain products — one for pork, one for fish, another for 
beef and mutton, and another for native fruits and vegetables. Much 
of the selling is done by women who show plenty of shrewdness in 
looking after their own interests. On the street corners are numerous 
stands where fruits and vegetables are sold — each presided over by a 
smiling black wonian. Of all the places in Jamaica the public markets 
afford the best opportunity of observing the people and their charac- 
teristic customs and manner — and there is no place so interesting as 
this market. Saturday night is particularly lively, at which time the 
streets are crowded, and it is about the merriest, most good natured 
crowd to be seen in all the world. An amusing sight are the rude ''hokey- 
pokey," or ice cream carts, that are pushed from street to street, 
always surrounded by a noisy crowd,who purchase a "quattie's" worth 
of the cool and novel Northern delicacy. Some native genius had con- 
structed a merry-go-round near the water. It was a crude affair, but 
was built on the correct principles and went round just like the 
American machine ; but, instead of being provided with an engine or 
crank for driving it, it was pushed around by perspiring boys, to the 
discordant strains of a cornet and violin. But the people enjoyed it 
and it was liberally patronized. Indeed, so completely did it capture 
the popular fancy that cases were frequent where men came to the 



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'Biickra Land. 



39 



village to buy supplies, and spent all on the merry-go-round and re- 
peated it night after night. 

A conspicuous feature in this throng is the constabulary or policemen — 
who match the color of the darkness very well, and who wear their 
uniforms with great dignity, are extremely polite and never think of 
using a word of one syllable when a longer one can be employed. 
While we stood watching the merry-go-round, one of these dusky con- 
stables approached us, and with a pompous but friendly air, offered to 
"rush in and secure seats" for us, if we wished to ride. "We expressed 
our gratitication, but declined police interference in our behalf. 

Another livelj' scene in Port Autouio is when one or more of the 
Boston Fruit Co*s banana steamers are in, loading with a cargo of fruit, 
Then all is stir and bustle on the wharf where the loading is going on. 
Beginning at an early hour the mule carts are rattling through the 
village, going out to the plantations where the fruit is being cut, and re- 
turning to the wharf loaded with green buuches carefully packed in 
''trash'' or dry leaves of the banana or plantain to save them from 
bruises — while the air resounds with the curious "Brr-r-r-r-rrrr" of the 
men — this being, apparently, the only sound comprehended by the 
mules. But of bananas, their production and shipment, I shall deal in 
anotlier chapter devoted to that subject alone. 

So closed our first week in Jamaica. The next day, Sunday, we 
went to the Episcopal church at the other end of the village, where, 
while listening to an eloquent discourse by the Rector, Rev. Mr. Harty, 
Ave could see through the side door the blue Caribbean and the palm 
trees, and smell the odor of flowers in this land of perpetual mid- 
summer. 

On the morrow we start on our journey to Kingston — along the coast 
by steamer for some eighty miles to St. Ann's Bay, from whence we 
take our route over the mountains to Kingston. 



CHAPTER VI. 



An Interesting Walk.— Mangrove Swamps.— Myriads of Crabs 

and Lizards.— Beneath Almond Trees by the Shore. 

—Off for St. Ann's Bay. 



T T(5\E started out, this time on foot, for a walk along the Windward 
VA/ Road, in the direction of the Williamsfield estates of the Bos- 
ton Fruit Co. Passing through the village, we called at the postofflce 
on the way to leave some mail for the United States which was to catch 
the steamship Ethelred, Captain Hopkins— from Port Morant for Phila- 
delphia—and then proceeded along the road to Golden Vale, until we 
came to that, to me, familiar junction, and turned into the Windward 
Road. This is one of the most interesting trips around Port Antonio. 
It passes across a rather low, flat tract of country at first, with great 
stretches of wild cane, whose tall plumes gently sway in the breeze. 

On either side of the road tall bamboos, whose foliage I think is the 
most beautiful to be seen in the tropics, lean gracefully over the road. 
This, the Windward Road, extends around the shore of the island, south- 
ward to Port Morant, and thence westward to Kingston. Over this road 
the ''Royal Mail" coach makes bi-weekly trips. A little way along, 
we come to where a small stream— or river as it is called in Jamaica- 
flows across the road. Like very many rivers in Jamaica this one has 
no bridge, but at this time there was one in process of construction 



'Buckra Lattd. ^/ 

and it is a novel sight to see how they carry on engineering work in 
this land of rest. 

In order to guard against the frequent freshets, the level of the road 
had to be raised for several rods on each side of the river in order to 
bring the bridge a sufficient height above the stream. The earth and 
Other filling for this work was brought from the shore of the Caribbean, 
about a quarter of a mile away, by women and children, in trays upon 
upon their heads, and as we walked along we met them coming in long 
lines with full trays, and passed others going back with trays empty. 
Beyond the river we passed many curious thatched huts, setting back 
among the palm and banana trees, and there were many great trees on 
the high banks, from the branches of which giant lianas and other 
creepers hung down almost to the earth. We amused ourselves with 
that curious freak of the torrid zone, the sensitive plant, which grows 
abundantly by the roadsides, and when touched with anything folds 
and droops its leaves as though they were wilted, usually with a quick, 
snappy motion, as though very angry. 

Beside the road for a long distance, the ground was honey-combed by 
the holes of the little red crabs that are seen by thousands. Walking 
quietly, we saw them crawling about like great insects ; but with the 
slightest noise they would scurry into their holes, and then peep care- 
fully out at us, keeping the two big claws at the edge of the hole, 
which, with the crab, means both offense and defence. 

Something new and strange and interesting caine into view at every 
curve of the road until we came to the shore. Here the road turned 
sharply to the right and followed the coast. We walked slowly along. 

How hot it was ! The direct rays of the tropical sun penetrated 
even the thick, well ventilated pith walls of the white East Indian 
helmet which I wore. 

For a short distance along the road on the right, low, marshy land 
extended to the hills, and, between the road and the shore there was 
almost a continuous fringe of cocoanut palms, among which were 
frequent native houses. Here also, we saw one of the curious things 
of Jamaica domestic life. 



^2 ' 'Buckra Land. 

It was a public oven — something seen at intervals in travelling about 
the country. These ovens are perhaps six or seven feet high, four or 
Ave wide, and probably ten feet long, built of brick, or stone and adobe. 
Here the people for miles around bring their bread to be baked. These 
ovens usually stand beneath some trees, simply having above n rude 
shelter of thatch, raised on four poles. 

Now we come to one of the most interesting parts of our walk, a 
section of the road which passed through a mangrove swamp. These 
famed morasses' are always very fascinating to the traveller from the 
North. The mangrove swamp is on a level with the sea, almost. Its 
surface is composed of soft, black mud, reeking with moisture, fester- 
ing beneath the burning sun, and from it arises a disagreeable odor. 
Thickly studding the glittering surface are the mangrove trees, each 
having many roots, which descend into the oozy depths, rising several 
inches or several feet, at their apex bearing the tree itself, which stands, 
resembling at its base a huge black spider, standing upon long legs. 
The mangrove morass is covered with these fantastic, twisting roots, 
reminding one of a den of tangled serpents, and beneath these roots 
the rays of the sun here and there dimly penetrate the gloom. Over 
the steaming surface hairy crabs crawl »nd shoot about, for here the 
foot of man cannot tread. 

Continuing aloug, we passed a bank, upon which, high above us, 
thicklj- grew the rank, fleshj -leaved sisal plant, somewhat resembling 
the centurj' plant, with the tall, pole-like flower stem, ten or twelve 
feet high, bearing a great spear-shaped head of small flowers. This is 
the plant from which the sisal hemp of commerce is obtained. On 
both sides of the road the cruel Spanish bayonet gi-ew in profusion, 
and the broad-leaved plant of the sea-grape. Over the stone walls, 
dating back to the times of the opulent sugar kings, who, when slavery 
was abolished, left their plantations and returned to England, never to 
return to Jamaica again, but to live in England and enjoy their wealth, 
many vines grew in luxuriance. At one time the country was full of 
typical tropical vegetation, and at another we might almost have im- 
agined we were in some portion of the New England states, had it 



•Biickra Land. 43 

'oot been for the vine-coveied orumblino- walls of an old sugar mill. 

Comiuo- to a point on the road where it almost touched the sea, we 
turned off *:hrough a grove of wide-spreading almond trees to the shore. ' 
Here we wandered about over the dazzling white sand, composed of 
sea-shells and coral, pulverized by the action of the waves, and gathered 
■some ))eautiful corals, and my wife captured a hermit crab, which was 
peramlmlating along with surprising speed, carrying along the house 
in which it lived— the deserted shell of a sea-snail. Once I started to 
^clamber out over the rocks to a long reef which projected out from the 
shore, but I was stopped by a great Spanish bayonet plant, which held 
•out to me a hundred cruel points, barring my furthei- progress. 

Beyond, seaward, the fleecy surf thundered on the coral reef, and 
midway between the reef and the shore stood a solitary table rock and 
from the middle, clinging to the thin layer of soil, one solitary fan 
palm grew and waved its leaves and beckoned to us. But we must 
turn back. On our homeward wallv we paused frequently to rest, once 
beneath a great almond tree, where we watched the little green lizards 
glancing about over an old wall, in and out of the crevices like flashes 
^f green and golden light, changing their colors with every object on 
which they rested and stopping for an instant to gaze at us with their 
little bead-like eyes, turning their heads first to one side, then to the 
-other, as though mentally trying to determine what sort of strange 
beings we were, and where we came from. A party o*: black children 
<;ame along, and paused beneath the same tree. One little dark girl 
carried a beautiful wild cane plume, which she shyly oftered to my 
wife with, "would you like this missis,'" and then they went along, now 
and then stopping to play or paddle in the water. 

Arriving at the Titchfield House, we found a comfortable supi)er 
awaiting us, with such tropical luxuries as yams, plantaiiis and oranges, 
jind Miss Wood had prepared for us in the way of a very pleasant sur- 
prise, two glasses of granadilla— the inner part of a gourd-like fruit, 
which ready to be eaten looked not unlike small oysters— and it proved 
to be very refreshing, having a pleasant acid flavor. It is the fruit of 
Uhe Passion flower, and grows plentifully in the forests of Jamaica. 



44 'Buckra Land. 

At 2 o'clock Monday afternoon we bade good-bye, temporarily, and 
embarked on one of the Boston Fruit Company's steamers, the Banes^ 
for St. Ann's Baj'^, whence we were to go over-land to Kingston on the 
South coasfe. It was a beautiful afternoon as we steamed out of the 
harbor by the light on Folly Point, and turned to the westward. 

The sea was as smooth as glass and stretched away, a glittering ex- 
panse of tropical water, to Cuba, far to the north. The Banes followed 
the serrated coast line, which gave us a tine view of the island from the- 
sea, the lofty blue mountains rising in the back ground, making what 
seemed an almost impassable barrier over which we must go on the 
morrow. 

Now and then the steamer turned her head inshore toward a little 
harbor or cove, where was located a station of the Boston Fruit Co. 
She was picking up fruit, bananas and oranges, making up a cargo for- 
Baltimore. As she steamed into these little ports the Company's signal 
from the steamer's whistle awoke the echoes from the green hills and, 
looking shoreward, we could see bustle and business at the landing 
where the fruit Avas all ready to be lightered to the ship ; and almost 
before the chain had ceased to rattle through the hawse-hole, and the 
big two-ton anchor had plunged down among the coral palaces be- 
neath the waves, big boats loaded nearly to the gunwales with fruit pat 
off from shore, and were sculled along-side by the black laborers, the 
fruit passed through the big ports and stowed in the racks in the hold, 
amid a good deal of chattering and talking by the men in the boats. The- 
Jamaica black is a great person to talk and his tongue is never stilly 
from morning to night. 

We touched at Port Maria, Anuatto Bay, where the Company's mana- 
ger, Mr. Kennedy, came out and on board and gave us a cordial greeting, 
and next Ocho Rios and Rio Novo. 

The setting of the sun was quickly followed by darkness, and the- 
heavens became studded with stars which shine nowhere with such 
brilliancy as in the tropics. Still the Banes glided swiftly on, winding 
in and out past the headlands, anon turning and heading toward the 
shore to stop at some port, where we could not help wondering how i I 



'Buckra Land. ^5r 

was possible to distinguish one inlet from another. But it was all plain 
to the pilot, Capt. Bennett, one of the most skilled and long experienced' 
fruit captains, who guided the great ship where, in the hands of one not;' 
so skilled, she would have brought up on one of the hundreds of coral 
reefs. 

I remained on the bridge, trying to realize to my own satisfaction 
that I was cruising along the coast of this fair isle, far south in the 
West Indies — thinking of those at home two thousand miles away — and 
as I stood gazing at the Southern Cross which blazed above the highest 
peak of the island, the steamer again awoke the echoes with her whistle, 
and we soon dropped anchor at Orracabessa, the spot where Columbus 
landed on his first visit to Jamaica. When we awoke the next morning 
we were at anchor in the harbor of St. Ann's Bay, and the sun was just 
rising over the mountains. 

Ah, the glory of a tropical sunrise — a spectacle never to be forgotten. 
There were several other steamers at anchor near by, one the Can- 
steamer Xeptuno, hailing from New York, and just before we disem- 
barked for the shore an Atlas steamer, the Alvena, steamed in, and 
with a great racket let go both her anchors, the dust from the rusty 
chain rising in a great cloud, making one think, almost, that it was the 
water which was dusty, and as she let go both anchors, Capt. Bennett 
hailed her and asked if she was going to sto}) a month. 

Soon we bade good bye to Capt. Bennett, and started ashore in one of 
the great banana boats. Here, too, we met with a cordial welcome from 
the Company's agent, ^Ir. Tullock, who had a carriage waiting to take 
us to the house, where, while we bathed and rested in an airy, pretty 
sitting-room perfumed with bouquets of flowers, our pleasant hostess 
had prepared for us an acceptable breakfast before we started on ouv 
trip over the mountains to Ewarton. 



CHAPTER Vll. 

Over the Blue Mountains. — A Wonderful Experience. — Moun- 
tain Villages. — Coffee and Pimento Plantations. — Mt. Dia- 
bolo. — On the Railway. — Arrival it Kingston. 



J^HILE we were ejitiufi- breakfast the carriajfe which Mr. Tullock 
had so kindly placed at our disposal waited iu front of the house, 
and we soon bade our i)leas:iut, hospitable hostess good bye and drove 
through the quaint, interesting streets of St. Ann's, the bright, 
hot sun's rays falling upon thewiiite road and buildings with a blinding, 
glare, to the postoffice, from whence the RoniiI Mail coach leaves for 
Ewarton. The mail was not quite ready, and tlie postmaster asked us 
to step inside, and while we waited we had a chance to observe how 
Her Majesty's mails are handled in a colonial postoffice. Throughout 
.lamaioit the postoffice and telegraph office are always found together — 
both being controlled by the government. In making up the mails the 
canvas bags for the different mail posts along the route are carefully 
tied up, plenty of time being taken for doing it. Then a kettle of seal- 
ing wax is healed, and each bag is carefully sealed with the wax, and 
stamped with a seal. While the postmaster was doing this a man came 
to buy a stamp, and was told that there was no time to sell stamps until 
after the mail was closed. 

Contrast this with the way mails are closed in Boston. The matter 
ds tossed into the bags which hang upon racks — ''whizz!" goes the 



'Buckra Laud, ^j 

leather stryp through the steel staples, "click I" goes the spring lock^ 
and "bang!" as the bag of mail is thrown toward the shipping depart- 
nient — all done in less time than it takcfj the Jamaica postmaster to 
plaster the sealing wax over the knots which fasten the bags. People 
do not enter the building where they buy stamps or inquire for mail, but 
stop on the outside of the building, at a low, broad, glassless window. 

At last the mail was closed, and the stsige, a comfortable, covered 
coach with two seats, capable of holding four passengers, di-awn by 
three mules harnessed abreast, drew up to the door. The coachman 
was the same man who piloted the mails over the mountains when 1 
made the trip Ave years l)efore. On the sides of the coach were lettered 
the words, "Royal Mail." 

We left the town of St. Ann's at 10 o'clock and were in a few minutes 
ascending the Blue Mountain range. This road for the entire distance 
of 29 miles to Ewarton is one of the finest that I have ever seen. It is 
a beautifully smooth macadam road, and .Jamaica can well lay claim t<» 
having maguiticant roads throughout the island, and, of all oin- ex- 
periences in Jamaica, and of mine on w\\ iircvious visit to the ishnnl, 
there are none to which we look back with so much delight, with >ucii 
recollections, with so nmch pleasure as to this wonderful liiic. lli*.' most 
varied journey to be made in Jamaica. The road winds among the 
mountains, turning and twisting about, this way and that, of tent ime.« 
doubling upon itself so that, looking down the mountains one luiiulred 
or two hundred feet below, we could frequently see the very section of 
road over which we had passed two or three miles back. For tlie tirst 
few miles the road passes through the most beautiful country, grand 
mountain scenery, deep ravines and magniticeiit gorges, and »'vory- 
whore the richest, densest and most varied of tropical vegetation, .-ome 
of the rich intervale lands being almost entirely covered Ity the grc.it 
yam vines. All along the way coflee trees grew beside the road, some- 
times oecuring in dense thickets, with the green and red-ripe coflee 
berries. 

How strange it seemed, to be riding through a country where cofle*' 
grew beside the road likealders, in our own country. Hcrcand there we 



^ 'Buckra Land. 

saw native thatched huts often standing among the palms and banana 
trees far below the road, or perched high up on the side of a mountain. 
In some places the road ran along the face of a mountain, which 
towered far above us, so high that we could see its top only by leaning 
■out of the coach, and, beginning from the very edge of the road, on 
the other side, we looked down for hundreds of feet upon a rich inter- 
vale, while beyond stretched the savannas covered with grass occu- 
pied by "pens," on which fine cattle and sheep were grazing. 

Presently 1 shall speak more particularly of the ''pens." Our first 
«top was at Lime Savanna, a pretty mountain village, with several 
stores and other places of business, and a post office and telegraph 
otfiee. We stopped here only a few minutes, to leave and take the mail, 
and tlien started on up the mountain range. From tins point, on to the 
next station, is the great pimento-growing district of the island; and 
iiow, on both sides of the road we saw beautiful pimento trees, some of 
medium size and others monstrous trees, lofty, rather spreading, and 
with gnarled, furrowed trunks — the bark of the trunks and large 
branches being a very light drab, some almost white. The pimento 
tree is not one of the most spreading trees until it becomes very old — 
when often the expanse of its branches from side to side covers a large 
are'A.. The crop had been gathered, but here and there we saw a tree 
with benies on it, some ripe and some unripe, and on one tree, too 
hi^h up to be reached, I saw a cluster of blossoms. In one place, for 
fully half a mile, we were passing a pimento estate of great trees, 
which stretched away for a mile, like an immense orchard. 

At one point after we had reached a high altitude we could, by look- 
ing back, see the Caribbean in the distance, a broad expanse of beauti- 
ful water — and the intensity of the blue cannot possibly be imagined 
by one who has not seen it. It was a sight never to be forgotten, and 
aiot, 1 am sure, surpassed on the face of the globe. 

As we progressed toward the top of the range, the character of the 
vegetation changed remarkably. Ah! How wonderful, what an 
experience, riding through those tropical mountains in the interior of 
the most southern of the West India Islands ! Now the cocoanut palms 



'Buckra Land. 



49 



t)ecome much less numerous, and now one was rarely seen. Instead, 
the cabbage-palm became more plentiful, and the sour orange trees 
very numerous, nearly all tilled with green and golden fruit, and once 
ana while a lime tree was seen — or, by some swiftly flowing stream, an 
avocado pear loaded with the great tear-shaped fruit. We could have 
almost imagined that we were riding through a section of New England, 
had it not been for the tropical trees, here and there. But the aspect 
of the country differed widely from that on the coast, fi-om a dense, 
thoroughly tropical vegetation to sub-tropical. 

Now and then, as we passed a high bank, we would hear a grunt, a 
scrambling in the bush, and one of the Jamaica wild-pigs, or half-wild, 
would poke his nose out and take a look at us, and then scurry away 
into the bush. 

On either hand the rich pens, or stock farms, rolled away over the 
mountain table-lands, and a substantial stone mansion nestled amono- 
splendid trees, with broad grounds and magnificent approaches and 
gate-ways. Our next stop was Claremont, an important mountain 
town, situated nearly at the top of Blue Mountain range. It is a 
pretty village, too, with luxurious residences, and several large stores. 
Here we stopped to change mails, and to change mules and coaches, 
iind we purchased some refreshments. We again started, after a stop 
of about half an hour, still clhnbing up hill. But we were nearly at 
the crest of the range, and would soon begin the sect nd half of the 
journey which would be all the way down hill. At this altitude, as we 
rolled across the level savannas, we saw great clumps and vast stretches 
of the cruel Spanish dagger plants, wliidi would average ])erhaps from 
two feet to ten feet high ; and great ])rickly pears and cacti. Now and 
then we met men, women and iliildren with loads upon their heads, and 
little burros with monstrous loads of guinea grass upon their backs; 
while anon, women were seen at work ui)on the roads. 

At one point we passed what was perhaps the most magnificent sight 
on the route — a coffee plantation, mostly of young trees, but some in 
Ix'aring; and some coolies were to be seen scattered through the plan- 
tation picking the berries. This was one of the famed plantations of 



^o 'Buckra Land. 

Blue Mountaiu coflTee. The trees are planted regularly, beneath grove* 
of large forest trees, for the coffee tree cannot endure the full force of 
the hot tropical sun, and requires a moderate shade. 

With regard to coftee in the Blue Mountains, it is the finest grown in 
the world, and a large percentage of the crop is annually contracted 
for by Deliuonico, the world famous restaurateur of New York. Con- 
cerning coftee planting, a man, we will say, commences by planting, 
after felling and clearing a hundred acres, and obtains his first return 
in five years. The establishing and up-keep at this period, including 
the building of a house, putting up works :md machinery, cost $70,000, 
and he has, of course, to live until the trees begin to bear. Consider- 
able capital is therefore required. The second hundred acres will cost 
about !Si45,000, and the third about .$35,000. The return to be expected 
from the three hundred acres is estimated at 20 per cent, on capital 
outlav For any one possessing ample means and energy, there is 
no more healthy, profitable or pleasant life than coftee planting in tUe 
beautiful climate of the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. 

Suo"ar was, of course, once the principal staple of Jamaica, but since 
emancipation the industry has fallen oft', and its place has been more 
than taken by fruit cultivation. This is now a large item of export, 
valued at $2,000,000, out of a total value of $8,791),030, sugar amount- 
ing to §1,200,000. Cofiee is a yearly increasing article of export^ 
amounting annually to $1,700,000. The great market of the Unitwi 
States takes nearly all the sugar, the whole of the fruit and half the 
coftee. The bananas and oranges, being of a perisha))le character^ 
naturally go the nearest market — the United States. 

The "pens" are large sweeps of guinea-grass and common pasture, 
on which live stock graze and are reared. Throughout the island abont 
370,000 acres of land are devoted to grazing, and allowing four acres of 
land per head, there must be about 00,000 head of cattle scattei-ed 
throuo-hout the island. The beef in Jamaica may be a little hard, 
havino- to be eaten so soon after being killed, but it is nutritious, deli- 
cate and juicy. The pens are much more manageable than the enormous 
open ranches of South America. They range from 800 to 2000 acres. 




From an Oiifiiniil Photograph. 

<)VKKsi:i:i;"s iiorsi-; un a im.anta tion. 



'Biickra Land. 5/ 

Our uext stop was at Moueague. It is the largest and most iiuijortaut, 
as well as the prettiest, village in the interior of Jamaica. It is an 
important commercial centre for the productions of the interior, and 
there are several large buying stations there. The village is laid out in 
beautiful streets, with one handsome main street running laterally- 
through the town. The stores and other places of business are large 
and well stocked. This is a famous station for securing teams and 
carriages by inivellers, and is connected with all parts of the island by 
telegraph. 

The dwellings are charming houses, constructed with due regard to 
this l)eautiful climate. The cliiiuite among the Blue Mountains is in- 
describably lieautiful, never hot, always soft and invigorating, with 
clear, pure air. 

The coacli stopped at the postolKce. Nearby was a crowd of school 
children playing and the people were going about their usual vocations, 
leisurely, easily and hixuri(Misly, as everything is done in this tropical 
garden. 

Leaving Moneague, we passed the towering peak of Mt. Diabolo, and 
passed some of the grandest and most splendid mountain scenery. Mt. 
Diabolo rose toward the clouds directly abOA-e us, and seemed to be 
ready to topple over ou us; while far below, stretching away to the 
souththward, lay the beautiful plain known as St. Thomas-in-ye- 
Vale where some wonderful clouds and atmospheric eftects are seen. 
Sometimes the whole vast plain resembles a sheet of water. 

Frecpiently we saw, on the edge of a pen, a circular watering hole or 
basin, shaped like an inverted cone, with its apex tilled with water, 
down the slope of which the cattle went to drink, the tei ra-ioUa color 
of the earth around the liole conti-astiiig wonderlully with the vivid 
green of the grassy savanna. 

For some miles, before the road began to descend the range, the 
mules became very slow, and desi)ite all the vigorous belaboring of 
their tough hides l)y the driver, they could rarely be inthucd to go faster 
than a walk. Bui now they bail no alternative, for the coach iiiiiililed 
along of its own iiioiiicnimn. aliiiosl. and we dashed along, often on the 



52 



'^uckra Land. 



very edge of the great precipices, making us hold on and catch our 
breaths ; but all such places are protected by solid walls of masonry 
built along the road — which must be accorded a place among the most 
magnificent pieces of engineering in the world. The driver guided the 
mules skillfully, and handled the coach with the brake. In Jamaica are 
found some' of the finest and most skillful drivers in the Avorld. Every- 
thing had to give way to the Royal Mail, and when teams met the stage 
they made haste to rein out while Her Majesty's mail rattled past. 

We rapidly covered the last half of the journey, and rolled across the 
edge of St. Thomas-in-ye-Vale, and pulled up at the postoflice at 
Ewarton, one of the termini of the Januiica Railway. Though we had 
so greatly enjoyed our ride over the mountains, Ave were not sorry to 
leave the stage, and we walked the few rods to the railway station. 
Here I telegraphed friends in Kingston, about forty miles away, and pur- 
chased our tickets. 

While we we were waiting a young colored woman, barefoot, but 
otherwise "rigged out to kill'" came slapping into the station, and 
carefully dusting her feet with her skirt, proceeded to put on a pair 
of pink stockings, and a pair of patent leather slippers. Approaching 
my wife she said: ''Missis, will you please gib me a pin — the tie has 
come off ma shoe."' My wife handed her a paper containing both 
white and black pins, and she selected several black pins, which she 
evidently regarded as great curiosities. 

The little station • stands in the midst of a grove of cocoanut palms. 
It is a light, airy affair, open on all sides, with a wide portico at one 
end. 'i'he little train stood on the track a short distance aAvay, ready to 
back down for the passengers. The cars are of the English style, very 
light, with skeleton spoked wheels and fitted with compartments. 

A running board extends along the sides of each car, along which 
the conductor came after we started, putting his head through the 
window, and taking our tickets. The engine is also tiny, though the 
road is standard gauge ; and it stood blowing oft' steam furiously, the 
black engineer and fireman lounging lazily in the cab. 

Soon the engine was coupled to the cars and the train backed 



'Buck r a Land. 5^ 

down 10 the station. The shrill whistle began to blow and blew steadi- 
Ij" for about two minutes before the train started. There is no bell on 
the engine. Soon we were seated in our eompartuient, and the hour of 
starting had arrived. The conductor blew a small whistle ; the engine 
answered with a shrill blast, and away we rattled over this curious 
West Indian road, winding among the green hills, over high viaducts, 
past groves of palms and fields of cane, banana and plantain plantations, 
every now and then seeing a great beehive-like structure fully as large 
as a bushel basket, perched high upon some great tree — the homes of 
tlie tree, or nest-building ants. We stopped at frequent stations almost 
hidden among the cocoanut trees, and at one of these, the last stop 
before we entered the first of the many tunnels, we heard the sound of 
feet on the roof of the car, and were somewhat amused when we saw a 
lamp put down through the roof. Away again we sped, half of the 
time going at a tremendous rate by the force of gravity alone, until we 
saw the blue Caribbean spread out before us, stretching away but a 
day"s steaming to South America — and the Palisados, and the sand spit 
on which stands the famous city of Port Royal. Soon we reached the 
curious city of Kingston, and succeeded in fighting our way through 
the crowd of yelling, obtrusive, lying, aggravating, man-eating hack 
drivers, taking a carriage to the Park Lodge Hotel. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Around Kingston. — Curious Sights. — Commercial Importance of 
the City. — Port Royal. — The Soldiers of the West India 
Regiment.— Obtrusive Hack -Drivers. 



;0W wonderful it seemed to us as we rode through the streets of 
the quaint and curious old AVest Indian city of Kingston ; yet to 
me these scenes were all familiar, and it seemed like getting home again, 
the experiencing and reviving of old scenes and former associations, the 
memory of which, during five years since I passed out by the Palisados 
and Fort Augusta, had remained like a pleasant dream to me. 

The novelty of our position on the Western Hemisphere was fascina- 
ting. To the north rose the mountains of Jamaica ; still further to the 
north lay the great island of Cuba — and then, farther still to the north 
the Gulf of Mexico and Florida — while our other Southern States were 
so far noj'th froui us as not to be thought of in connection Avith "south." 
The states of Mexico lay far to the north — and so did the Yucatan 
peninsula, and the Bay of Campeche. Due west of us but a day-s sail, 
was the Republic of Honduras and the mountains of Central America. 

At the Park Lodge Hotel we were surrounded by typical southern 
luxury, for this is one of the most famous hotels in the West Indies. 
It stands in the midst of spacious grounds, filled with tropical trees, 
palm and tamarind ; great cacti, gorgeous crotons, great oleanders and 
many other beautiful flowers, while in fi'ont of the house in the centre 
of the grounds, a fountain plays from year's end to year's end. The 




From an Original Pliotograpli. 
JAMAICA l.AP.OKKK's IIUT. 



^uckra Land. ^^ 

hotel is a cool, airy, spacious structure, with wiile verandahs, easy 
chair«i and settees, a long dining room Avith polished floor, spacious, 
luxuriously furnished parlors, and comfortable sleeping rooms. Out-' 
side the main house are wings filled with rooms and baths, connected 
with the main house by covered walks over which trumpet vines creep. 
No fires are ever required in this land of never-ending summer. Pro- 
ducts peculiar to the tropics appeared upon the tables. There is no 
hurry and none is desired. Coffee and toast are brought to j'our room 
early in the morning. You breakfast at nine o'clock, lunch at one, and 
dine at seven. There is no rush, no hubbub, no confusion, such as we 
all know but too well in Northern hotels. 

Tliat evening we spent on the verandah, and in the gardens of the 
hotel. There were many guests besides ourselves, the ladies dressed in 
white or other light fabrics, and the gentlemen all in southern costume. 

Our old friend, Mr. George Levy, honored by his country and by the 
journalistic profession throughout the world, came to the hotel that 
evening to liid us a double welcome. 

The next morning I came down early, and requested my breakfast in 
advance of the others, as I wished to go down town to write some letters 
to catch the mail to NeAv York, and to keep several engagements — 
though during the remainder of our stay I did as the others did, and 
came strolling down stairs in a leisurely manner aliout 8 o'clock. The 
traveller in Jamaica who tries to expedite things has a contract on his 
hands that he cannot carry out. 

Kingston is a (£uaint and curious old, dusty city — a strange combina- 
tion of the Spanish and old English style. The streets are narrow but 
(piite regularly laid out, and straight. The buildings in the principal 
l)usiness sections, which include Harbor, Port IJoyal, King, Church, 
Queen and adjacent streets, are built, some of wood, and some stone and 
some of brick, and there are in Kingston places of business, warehouses 
and stores that would do credit to a larger Northern city. Kingston 
holds an important place in the commerce of the world, and a vast 
amount of heavj' commerce is carried on from this port. Its water- 
front teems with shipping and there are always here steamers and 



56 'Buckra Land. 

Siiiling vesssels from all parts of the world — and the Eoyal Mail steam- 
ers from England come in here on their way around to the different 
ports of the West Indies, Barbados and the Leeward and Windward 
Islands, and Central and South America. 

Vast quantities of merchandise, products of the island, are shipped 
from Kingston — logwood, fruit and pimento, and the imports consist of 
manufactured and food products from Europe and America. 

There is nothing more interesting than to walk about the streets of 
Kingston and observe the people going about in their every daj' life. 
Vehicles of all kinds are seen in the streets, stylish turnouts, from the 
equipages of the Governor to those of the citizens, mule carts and 
drays, donkeys and burros, people on horseback, and the ever-present 
hacks, whose di-ivers are the most obtrusive and most offensive hack 
drivers on earth. Men, women and children of the poorer classes 
go about the streets barefoot, and while walking through one of the 
outskirts of the city one forenoon we saw a boy, perhaps ten or twelve 
years old, who had nothing on except some made-over clothes from the 
tirst suit that Adam wore — which, in order not to be misunderstood, 
antedated the celebi*ated fig leaf. 

As we walked about, observing the scenes around us, Ave suddenly 
turned into Harbor street, and as we glanced along that thoroughfare 
our eyes met the most glorious vision that ever mortal man beheld. 
High above the tops of the buildings, at the end of a slender staff, 
floating and waving, and undulating, was the Stars and Stripes, the 
flag of our own country, of the Great Republic of the North, the 
United States of America. 

Kingston covers a portion of the Plain of Ligunea and is situated be- 
tween the foot of the mountains and the Caribbean — and almost on the 
sea level. The sewers are similar to those of New Orleans, and are 
merely shallow conduits open to the surface, which, every morning, 
are "flushed" by letting water into them from the city water system, 
which flows along the ditch by the sides of the streets, all over the 
citj*, across the streets, compelling the pedestrian to perform some 
acrobatic leaps in getting about. The city of Kingston is well cared 




From an Original Photognipli. 
KINUSTON HAK'l'.Oi; I'KONT. 



'Buck r a Land, yy 

for, and the streets are kept scrupulously clean, and while the water is 
flowing all the tilth and matter usually found in a city's streets is swept 
into the ditches and carried down into the harbor. At the time of ou? 
visit, however, a modern system of sewers was being put in — but for 
reasons of mj'^ own, not wishing to criticise the engineers, I venture to 
predict that the old system will outlive the new. 

Kiuffston harbor is one of the finest in the world. It is shut in from 
the Caribbean by a long coral reef covered tvith cocoanut palms, called 
the Palisados, which leaves only a narrow entrance. Opposite Kingston, 
at the entrance of the harbor, stands the famed city of Fort Eoyal, 
whose predecessor of unsavory reputation was destroyed by an earth- 
quake more than two centuries ago — and the waters of Kingston harbor 
now cover its former site. Relics of the old city can now be seen in 
the rooms of the Institute of Jamaica. 

Port Royal is a famous British naval station, and above Kingston, 
quartered in barracks upon the side of the mountains, are maintained 
English troops. Port Royal and its out stations, Rocky Point, Apost- 
les, Battery, and Fort Augusta, constitute the "harbor defences"" of 
Jamaica, and Port Royal itself is the key and the chief. The military 
authorities have of late years been engaged in improving the defences 
of Port Royal, including the construction of new batteries for rifled 
guns. In addition to this the Royal Engineers have a small submarine 
mining establishment fitted with tanks, steam Launch, boats, and elect- 
rical apparatus. The garrison itself is small in number but would be 
readily augmented on an emergency arising. 

At half-past eleven o'clock on the the morning of the 17th of -hine 
1692, the town was shaken by a tremendous eartlKjuake. Whole streets 
with their inhabitants were swallowed up by the opening of the earth. 
The ruins of old Port Royal are even yet visible in clear weather from 
the surface of the waters under which they lie, and relics are often 
procured by divers on exploring the ruins. After the earthquake new 
houses were erected and the i)lace, under the privateering system of 
the time, began again to flourish; l)ut in the beginning of the year 1703 
a fire broke out and in a few hours the whole town was in flames. 



^8 'Buckra Land. 

With the exception of the royal forts and magazines not a building was 
left. 

Periods of prosperity and reverses followed each other every few 
decades until July 13th, 1816, when fire again completely desolated the 
place. Since the occurrence of this fire the town has ceased to be a 
commercial centre and Port Royal is now of importance only as a naval 
station and a military garrison. 

The dockyard contains the official residence of the commodore and 
his staff'. It is equipped with a well-found machine shop, where steam 
engines and the machinery of war ships are almost constantly being 
repaired. 

I'ort Royal has always been considered important as a naval station. 
As recently as the American war and the French occupation of Mexico 
the fleet on the North American and West Indian station numbered 
some twenty-five ships, a goodly portion of which were constantly 
calling at Port Royal to coal, to obtain fresh provisions, and to refit ; 
the Archduke Maximilian on his way to Mexico was met there by eleven 
ships-of-war. 

The most variegated visions of the streets of Kingston are the 
soldiers of the West Indian regiment. They are giants in statue, 
black as ink, and wearing uniforms which set them oft" and agree with 
their complexions. We wished to purchase some curios of native work, 
and for that purpose visited the Woman's Self Help. There we found 
many beautiful and curious objects, and would have nuide a large pur- 
chase instead of the small one which we did, if the prices asked had 
not been so fabulous as to be utterly ridiculous for articles, the raw 
material for which was not worth a farthing. But we were, a little 
later, enlightened concerning this, and were informed that it was the 
time it took to make them, wliich was charged for — wliich was the first 
intimation we had received tliat any great valuation was placed on time 
in Jamaica. 

We visited the Public Gardens, which are very fine indeed, extensive, 
and well laid out. They are filled with many beautiful tropical plants 
and trees, among the most wonderful l)eing the great banyan tree, which 



'Biichra Liiid. 59 

sends down rocsts "mtothe ground from its bvauches, and so spreads 
«ver an ininiense area, large enough for a great mass-meeting to be 
held beneath the shade; and tall, graceful thatch-palms, scn-ew palms 
and many curious forms of trees ; while in the centre of these gardens 
there is an innnense basin of water in which the lovely water-hyacinths 
bloomed in profusion. 

There are many beautiful residences in Kingston, and, driving along, 
though the traveller may be gazing upon some unattractive, high, dusty 
wall, if he were to step through the door of the wall, he would find 
himself in the mid^t of charming grounds, gardens and lawns, made 
beautiful with rare tropical plants, with the great sumptuous house and 
wide veraudhas, typically luxurious Southern surroundings, ;ind here, 
too, the traveller would find the truest and freest of hospitality. 

Kingston has electric lights and sti-eet cars, the latter drawn by 
mules — with black drivers and black conductors. The cars are light tri- 
fling affairs compared with ours, and the passenger must be provided with 
the little red celluloid disks bearing the name of the company, and the 
words "One Fare,'" which are purchased, six for one shilling, or he 
must pay double fare. The conductor passes around a small box with 
a handle, something like a ballot box, and you "vote for one" if you 
are single, "and vote for two" if otherwise, as the case may be — drop- 
ping the little i-ed "fare" into the box. If you are riding to any 
■distance out of the city' say to Half Waj- Tree, or to Coiistant Spring, 
you have to drop in one fare for each mile 

We tarried in Kingston two nights and one and one half days, one 
evening being spent at the beautiful home and in the society of the 
delightful family of Mr. George Levy. 

Reluctantly we took our departure fi'om Kingston for we nuist reach 
Annatto Bay, thirty-one miles over the mountains, there to catch the 
Atlas steamer Adula for Port Antonio. AVe had intended to go over 
^n the nuxil coach, but as that flying machine had accommodations for 
Ijut three passengers, and those were engaged, I was compelled to hire 
a team, or rather buy it, presenting it to the owner after I was done 
'vith it. But we had no cause to regret that we had a team all to our- 



6o 'Buckra Land. 

selves when the covered buggy aud a span of horses, with a skilled 
driver came in through the gates of Park Lodge and drew up in front 
of the verandah. 

Bidding adieu to our hostess, Mrs. Thompson, we were soon on our- 
way to Annato Bay, over the famed "Junction Road." 



-#~ 



CHAPTER IX. 

By Carriage Over the Mountains. — The Environs of Kingston. 

—Constant Spring Sugar Plantation.— The Great Aqueduct. 

— Along the Wag Water River.— Grand Mountain 

Scenery.— Strange Sights.— Castleton Gardens. — 

Noisy Bull Frogs. — Annatto Bay. 



•^-.-vN the afternoon we left Kingston, the sky, which had been ahnost 
<j^ cloudless ever since we landed on the island, was over-cast ))y 
clouds, the forerunner of the rainy season which was about to set in 
But so long as it did not rain the clouds were welcome, and rendered 
our ride of thirty-one miles more enjoyable — without the blinding glare 
and torrid heat of the equatorial sun. 

With a carriage to ourselves, with a pair of good horses and a good 
driver, we were prepared to enioy the afternoon to the utmost. We 
drove through the environs of Kingston, past handsome residences 
surrounded by magnillcent and spacious grounds, most of them being 
styled ''Villas,"* and each having some name which usually appeared 
at the entrance to the grounds, as, for example, 'Talm Villa." Kings- 
ton certainly has some magnificent residences on its outskirts. 

Gradually we passed l)eyond the limit of quaint, queer old Kingston, 
.and bade it a final adieu with keen regret. Noav along the road, we 
passed many little shops, and soon we were riding across the northern 
part of the Liguenean plain, now and then passing a handsome resi- 



62 Tiuckra Land. 

dence iu the midst of spatious gvouuds, while along the way were 
many beautiful and wonderful trees, and giant cacti of several varie- 
ties. 

We reached Half Way Tree, a suburb of Kingston, the place of many 
beautiful residences, near Avhich is "King's House," the official residence 
of His Excellency, Sir Henry Arthur Blake, K. C. M. G., Governor and 
Captain-General of Jamaica and its Dependencies. 

Shortly after passing Half Way Tree, we arrived at the Constant 
Spring Sugar Estate, where we stopped to photograph the massive old 
cane mill and sugar house, with that ever present adjunct to sugar 
plantations, the tall chimney, also a moss-covered, crumbling ruin of a 
great stone aqueduct, a relic of anti-slavery times, in the palmy days 
of sugar planting in Jamaica. Its massive masonry is now cracked 
and crumbling, and covered by vines and creepers. There are many 
such ruins in Jamaica, forming one of the most picturesque features of 
the landscape ; l)ut, alas, recalling memories of a once great industry, 
the source of almost untold wealth, but since greatly declined. These 
aqueducts, wonderful feats of engineering, were constructed to bring 
water from the mountain streams, perhaps miles away, to turn the 
great over-shot wheel which furnished power to squeeze the juice from 
the cane. So, also, the traveller encounters frequent ruins of the 
ancient stone sugar mills, they, too, ci'umbling in decay, the great over- 
shot wheels falling to pieces, and the huge upright wooden rollers that 
ground the cane, cracked and rotting. The .lamaica sugar estates of to- 
day are eijuipped with modern machinery, centrifugals and vacuum 
jams ; and, as of j'ore, a distiller}' whence all the molasses is pumped 
to be distilled into rum on the plantation, for Jamaica exports no 
molasses, but has become famous for her rum. As I was levelling the 
camera at the plantation buildings, two black women in characteristic 
costume suddenly came Avithin the field of the lense, and I called 
upon them to stand still, and sprung the shutter. They readily com- 
plied with my request, laugh. ing gleefully. 

We now entered the mountains. The road was magnificent, and 
wound about, twisted and turned, up and down, causing us to wonder 




From '.m Oiitriiiiil riidlofiiaiih. 

■iCKKw pAi.M, ri lii.ic (;ai{i>i;ns, kincston. 



'Buck r a Land. 6^ 

how siu'li :i iiiiiguiticeiit pioce ot road buildinj;- could have been acom- 
pliislied. The Govorninent telegraph line followed the road, poinetiines 
leaviug it to take a short cut by means of a long span over some yawn- 
ing gorge or ravine around the edge of which the road wound. Here 
and there we passed native thatched huts, some diflerent from any we 
had before seen, the walls being composed of interwoven canes covered 
with plaster, the roof l)eing of thatch a foot or two thick. 

\Ve were following the course of the Wag AVater river, a fairly wide, 
swift stream, whose roar we could hear lor nearly the entire distance 
from Kingston to Annatto Bay. The mountains towered above us, and 
in many places the load ran along a shelf simply cut in the side of the 
mountains, which rose for hundreds of feet above us, often almost per- 
pendicularly, while below we could look down into a yawning chasm, 
at the bottom of which flowed the foaming Wag Water. 

After a few hours of sevei-e rain, as it rains in Jamaica and every- 
where in the W'est Indies, landslides are frequent in the mountains, and 
often render the roads impassible for days: so, ;:s much as we regretted 
leaving Kingston, the premonition that the rainj^ season was about to 
set in, made us anxious to get over the niouilains before the roads be^- 
came impassable, in order not to miss the steamer homeward hound. 

Now and then the road spanned a gorge or the rushing \\ ag Water 
river itself, by a stone viaduct, or a small streani flowed across it on its 
way to help swell the roaring w'aters of the Wag Water. 

On some of the mountain sides were iiatches of yams, or "provision 
grounds," the surface being so nearly perpendicular that, but a single 
misstep by the men working there, and they would come tumbling down 
upon the road. Anon, looking across a mountain valley, we could see 
houses perched upon another steep mountain side. Once we met a mule 
cart loaded with a great pile of guinea gra^s. At that particular jioint. 
the road was nairow, with the mountains rising on one side, and a 
yawning chasm on the other. For us to i)ass the great load of guinea 
grass seemed to us almost impossible. But here came in the skill of 
our driver — who at once assumed the position of general-in-command, 
and calling upon the driver of the mule cart to draw out as near the 



64 'Buckra Land. 

outer edge of the road as he could, our driver passed on the side next 
the mountain, although the great load of guinea grass completely filled 
the road and apparently left no place to drive by. Here and there we 
passed men and women, many of them returning from their day's work 
on the road. At one place, beside the road, there were circular baskets 
filled with coftee berries, just as they had been picked that day from the 
trees. 

As we descended a beautiful stretch of road, and turned around a 

grove of bread-fruit trees, we came to a long thatched building, where 

it was very evident some sort of festivities were going on. Our driver 

told us it was a wedding. The wedding party and guests were sitting 

in the early evening in front of the house, some dressed in white, others 

in gay i)ink, blue and scarlet dresses. Near-by, some children were 

anuising themselves with a sort of merry-go-round, which, though 

rude, was curious and showed wonderful ingenuity. It may be likened 

to a long gate, made of large bamboos. The gate was hung on an 

upright pole, in its natural position, the pole passing up through the 

top and bottom bars of the gate. Then the youngsters sat on either 

end of the lower rail,holding on to the side l)ars, and the whole was 

revolving with the speed of a fly-wheel, the children laughing and 

talking all the while. It was certainly the most exhilarating instrument 

of dizziness that 1 -ever saw, and I subsequently learned that it is a 

favorite amusement Avith Jamaica children, and that, so great is the 

velocity sometimes reached by this revolving ari-angement, that the 

upright pole gets on fire, sometimes burning ott" and dropping th6 

machine, children and all. 

At one point we passed, beside the road, the most beautiful bread 
fruit tree that we had seen anywhei-e. It stood alone, outlined against 
the sky, and was simply loaded with the spherical fruit. 

We arrived at Castleton, where is located the Government Botanical 
Garden, in the midst of the mountains, and at a high altitude. We had 
now accomplished about half of our journey. We regretted that our 
slow progress would limit our stop iJt Castleton to a few minutes oulv. 
My wife was anxious to secure some fei'ns there to take back to 



'Biickra Land. 65 

America, ami we feared we should have to go ou without them, as an 
attache of the Garden whom we met on the road said the g;ates were 
locked for the night. But in a few minutes we met another gentleman 
who kindly otlered to unlock the gates, when w^e told him what we 
wanted and how we had been delayed. So we left the carriage while 
the driver was Avatering the horses, and entered the Garden. What 
wonders of plant life I What a wealth of the wonders of tropical 
vegetation, trees, shrubs and flowers, all systematically and scientifi- 
cally labeled. We went to the fern enclosure, where we found hun- 
di'eds of the most beautiful ferns for which Jamaica is so famous 
among them being the gold and silver ferns — the under side of the 
leaves being covered with a sort of pollen Avhich looks like a sprinkling 
of those metals. With difficulty we selected several from the tempting- 
array, as we could not carry them nil — and l)idding our kind host of 
the past few minutes good bye, we again started — on the second half of 
our journey. 

Soon after leaving Castleton the dai-kuess, the blackest of black 
darkness, settled around us. Still we drove along, wondering more 
and more at the skill of the driver in following the winding road. 
Nothing disturbed the stillness, which seemed to bring out the sweet 
balminess of this land of flowers more plainly, except the noise made 
by our horses" feet, and the carriage Avheels, and o'ccasionally an ejacul- 
ation from the driver as he urged the horses along. No\a and then the 
dim light from a native hut Ijeside the rojid, above us ou a mountain 
side or l)elow us would flicker in the darkness. Myi-iads of great West 
Indian fire-flies danced about, shedding great glares of soft, golden 
light. The driver alighted to light the side lamps of the carriage, as 
every vehicle in Jamaica is requii-ed to carry side lights when driven ;it 
night. 

This experience of crossing these tropical mountains in the inky 
blackness, amid the strange scenes, was one of the most interestino- of 
our travels on the island. 'I'lic novelty of our situation made it seem 
almost as though it were a dream, instead of a veritable reality. 

Suddenly, above the roaring of ibc ^^■ag AVjitcr. we heard a noise 



66 'Buckra Land. 

which sounded ahiiost like a traiu crossing a raih-oad bridge. I askeeJ 
the driver what it was. "Dat, sail, is Avhat we call er 1)ull frog."' 
The monstrous West Indian bull frogs were serenading us, but what a 
wild serenade, in that wild, tropical land. 

Rather tired with our long ride, we at last emerged from the mooa- 
tains, and soon after crossed a lagoon, and were driving through the- 
village of Annato Bay — a place on the coast of considerable impor- 
tance, with numerous stores, a constabulary station, post and telegraph 
office, and one of the headquarters of the Boston Fruit Co. The 
village is surrounded by lagoons of stagnant Avater, their surfaces 
covered by vegetable matter, the lagoons ))eiug si)anned by line iron 
bridges. Before leaving Kingston I had telegraphed Mr. Kennedy, the 
agent of the Boston Fruit Co. at Annatto Hay, who kindly and thought- 
fully had some one on the lookout loi- us, and we found supper await- 
ing our arrival. And we were sadly in want of it, it now being eight 
o'clock, and we had eaten nothing since noon. I paid the driver for 
the team, and requested him to accept it from me as a present, regret- 
ting that I could not take it with me, seeing that I had bought it. I 
received a receipt, quite a formidable document with a revenue stamp 
attached; and after lingering for an individual tip, wliich. by the way- 
he didn't get, he regrettfully departed. 

I had a quiet smoke while listening to the roar of the Caribbean, and 
then we retired. In the morning we found it raining, but after break- 
fast, the rain ceasing, Mr. Kennedy kindly placed at our disjjosal a 
carriage and a pair of horses, and we drove along the eastward road, 
along the line of the railway which turus into the mountains at Annatto 
Hay. We drove slowly, passing some tine estates and ]>lantations of 
bananas and cocoanut palms, and saw groups of Avomeu along the 
road carrying gravel from the shore to the line of railroad under con- 
struction. 

There is one thing that the Jamaica horse knows nothing about, and 
that is backing. He has never been taught to back, and he who 
attempts to back him will find himself in trouble. I tried to turn by 
backing, when we started to return, but soon found my mistake, and it 



^uckra Land, 6j 

uot imtil a mau came aloug and took the horses by the head, that I 
managed to get turned around. 

At one place beside the road, a space of several yards square was 
covered with a beautiful cactus, with great, maguiflcent, pale yellow 
blossoms, which looked like silk, some of which I gathered, together 
with a lobe of the plant to take home. 

As we drove along we saw some animals somewhat resembling the 
gray squirrel of Xew England run across the road behind us. There 
was one tiny young one. They were mongoose. 

The mongoose was introduced into the West Indies for the ostensible 
purpose of destroying the large, grey, white-bellied rat that played 
havoc with the gi-owing canes on the sugar-growing plantations. That 
it fairly achieved the object for which it was imported cannot be gain- 
said, but that it would ever become the universal pest that it is at the 
present day, and has been for the last ten years, Avas never anticipated. 
So long as it kept to the cane-groA\ing plantations, and ate the planters' 
poultry, eggs and nil young and available animal life within a reason- 
able distance, all went well ; but with its rapid and prolific powers of 
reproduction and its vagabond and roaming disposition, it in a very 
short time — a few years — was to be found in every part of the island, 
from the seashore to the tops of the loftiest range of mountains, the 
highest peak of which is 7360 feet above the sea level. 

The mongoose was introduced to destroy the cane ra<^. Though it 
has not exterminated these rats, it has lessened their numbers in the 
caue-tields and saved the sugar planters a lot of money. It was uot 
introduced to destroy, but it has most effectually nearly exterminated 
all the ground-laying and feeding I)irds, poultry, eggs of all kinds, on 
the .ground and in trees, including those of the land turtle; it kills 
young pigs, lambs and kids; eats fruits of all kinds, canes, ground 
provisions, fish, wild' fowl, snakes, lizards, crabs, etc. All young and 
tender life, animal and vegetable, is included in its daily menu.) 
'^ ■When'he has cleared^off the animal life and the fruit in a district, the 
mongoose turns'^his attention" to ground provisions, and liere again 
he shows the variety of his taste' and [tlie power of liis jaws. He will 



68 'Buckra Land. 

grovel away with his paw8 until he lays bare yams, cocoas, sweet 
potatoes, cassava, bitter and sweet (the former, Manihot utilissiraa, 
poisonous in its raw, unprepared state), and other ground food tubers. 

Of fi-uit, he has a partiality for the banana, the various Ananas, the 
mango, and others, as well :is for some of the tree vegetables; for 
instance, the delicious akee (Cupania edulis) and alligator pear. The 
mongoose will likewise, when the irrigation canals are drawn oft' for 
cleaning, seize fish and make oft" with them. Not the least harm it has 
done has been the destruction of insectivorous l)irds and lizards, and 
the consequent increase of another nuisance, the tick. This is a 
subject that the Jamaica Government is bound to take up in the near 
future, and there is, or will be, found only one remedy — the introduc- 
tion, propagation and protection of insect-eating birds. The mongoose 
breeds about six to eight times a year, and each time there are from 
five to ten young ones. A busy animal is the mongoose. The mon- 
goose lives in the hollows of dead trees, dry walls and othei' such 
places. Ills activity is wonderful, and it is a ti-eat to see him leap at 
and secure a young fowl ; he very seldom misses the quarry, which, 
when secured, he proceeds to mutilate in the groin, first of all drinking 
the warm blood, then devouring the liver, etc. 

In Jamaica there was a beautiful and indigenous snake, a friend to 
the agriculturist, Chilobothrus inornatus, connnonly called the yellow 
snake, and growing to a length of six or seven feet. It is gone; love 
or money cannot procure a specimen, especially during the last five or 
six years. Another ally of the land cultivator, the ground lizard 
(Ameival corsalis), is gone, oi- is veiy rarely seen. 

While sitting at our lodgings waiting for the steamer to appear in the 
bay, my wife was greatly interested in watching several blacks climb- 
ing the cocoanut trees opposite, going up like monkejs, clinging to the 
knobs left by previous leaves with their toes, and reaching the crown, 
sitting astride the bases of the leaves, they cut the ripe cocoanuts, let- 
ting them fall to the ground, which they struck with a great thud. 

At last the whistle of the Adula sounded beyond the point, and soon 
she was anchored oft" Annato Bay. 



CHAPTER X. 

Arrival of the Coastal Steamer. — Interesting and Novel Scenes. — 

With a Dusky Boatload of Passengers We Embark for 

Along the Coast. — A Close Call. — Arrival at 

Port Antonio. — Tropical Rain. — A Carriage 

Awaits Us. — "Home Again." 



O sli.illow is the water in Annatto Bay, as in many other harbors 
(^ on tlie Jamaica coast, that steamers have to anchor some distance 
ott" shore, while everything, cargo and passengers, has to be lightered 
to and from the steamer in boats. These boats are wide and deep and 
ai-e sculled along to and from shore by blacks, with long, stout oars. 

While the Adula lay swinging at her anchor chain, we stood on the 
end of the long wooden pier and watched the novel scenes around us. 
The ware-houses and office of the steamship company are at the head 
of the pier, and around them were ])iled hundreds of tons of logwood 
ready for shipment. 

An interested and curious throng of people were gathered about, some 
to meet friends, others to see friends aboard, Avhile still others had not 
an object in view beyond standing idly aroiiid, talking, always talking, 
and laughing — men, women and children, of all shades, and in many 
and varied costumes. One black boy, perhaps a do/en years old, was 
clothed onlj' in a pair of old trousers, the only vestige of Axliirh re- 
mained being the waistband and the pockets. 



70 'Buckra Land. 

Curious people, these. There were mauy going aboard the Adula for 
the various outports and Kingston, and thej^ came to the landing en- 
cumbered with all sorts of luggage, trunks, boxes, bags, bundles, and 
scarcely one did not have the inevitable pieces of sugar cane, some 
green cocoanuts, for no Jamaica pei-son of the class which travel as 
"deckers" on the coastal steamers would think for a moment of making 
a trip, even from one port to another, without something to eat or 
chew, or drink. A great crowd of children was gathered about, getting 
in the way of the black, bare-footed longshoremen who were getting oft' 
the freight to the steamer. Some blocks of ice were being taken ashore 
from the steamer, and in handling it, small fragments were broken oft', 
and each time a piece or two of ice would fall oft' there would be a 
great scramble and a great tussle among the children to secure the 
fragments of ice, the successful ones scampering oft", carrying the 
coveted morsel in their hands, the girls wrapping it in their skirts, each 
meanwhile trying to crowd a piece into his or her mouth, the capacity 
of the average mouth being but a trifle less than that of a port of the 
Adula. 

Finally a boat came for the passengers, and the first lot, bag and 
baggage, babies, sugar cane and green cocoanuts were embarked. We 
watched the people, while one of the boatloads was getting away. One 
of the women carried a bal)y, and when she was safely stored away in 
the boat, she proceeded to open a green cocoanut. This done she held 
it to the baby's lips, and the little one sipped the reft-eshing nectar. 
She also fed the child with something from a cup, what, we could not 
determine. After the baby had sipped a little of the water from the 
cocoanut, the mother lifted the nut to her capacious mouth, and drank 
the rest. It is astonishing to see how adroitly the native women will 
cover the end of a cocoanut with their mouths, witli never a leak as the 
contents gurgles down their throats. 

Finally our turji came, and we descended into a boat "with the rest 
of the niggers," so to speak, and with the purser standing in the stern, 
we started away for the Adula. We were soon on deck, and went 
forward to make ourselves comfortable, but the most of the people 



'Buckra Land. yj 

were directed below, being "deckers," who pay only about one-third as 
much as first-class passengers. 

The last of the freight was taken aboard, the last of the boats put off 
for shore, the anchor was hove up, and the Adula turned outward, and 
we were on our way to Port Antonio — steaming close along shore, with 
the beautiful mountains on one side, and the blue Caribbean stretching 
away on the other. 

There was not a heavy sea, yet the disturbed condition of the weather 
the past two or three days caused a moderate swell. But the Adula 
has contracted a bad habit of pitching during her years of coasting 
around the island, and some of the passengei-s, both first-class and 
'•deckers," were rather uncomfortable. As for us, if the voyage had 
been longer, I can't say what our condition would have been at the 
end. 

But it was a welcome sound when the whistle of the Adula an. 
nounced our approach to Port Antonio. Soon the light on Folly Point 
flashed across our bow, and the disagreeable motion of the steamer 
ceased. Just as we entered the harbor it began to rain — the inaugura- 
shower of the rainy season — a deluge of tepid water, impossible to 
realize unless one has sojourned in the tropic belt in the track of the 
trade winds. Meanwhile the steamer was working cautiously up to the 
wharf — and a short cessation of the rain brought a crowd to the scene ; 
but in a few moments it began to pour again, causing all to scamper 
precipitately for shelter. Even after the steamer was made fast to the 
wharf, the rain continued to fall in such torrents that we could not •'o 
ashore for nearly half an hour, and we remained in the saloon for 
shelter, for the rain swept every nook and corner of the deck. 

Finally, when the rain had nearly ceased, we took our small hand- 
haggage and started down the plank : but scarcely were we past the 
rail when the ever thoughtful kindness of the Boston Fruit Co., always 
anticipating every opportunity to add to our comfort and enjoyment — 
was again manifest : for a man met us half way down the plank, took 
our baggage and led us to a covered carriage, with two horses in charge 
of a driver that had been sent to await the arrival of the steamer to 



'J2 ^tickra Land. 

take us to the house dry shod ; and we were soon rattling along through 
the streets of Port Antonio, and up the hill to the Titchfleld House, 
stowed away, comfortable and dry in a closed carriage. The streets 
were running rivers. We were soon at "home" again, receiving a 
warm welcome. Indeed, our whole sojourn in Jamaica had been one 
series of welcomes, of hospitality, of thoughtfulness and kindness. 
Nothing was forgotten, everything was anticipated that would add to 
our pleasure — and among the many pleasant memories that we retain of 
that visit, none will be so long and sincerely cherished as the kindness 
shown us while in Port Antonio. 



-#- 



CHAPTER XI. 

Golden Vale Banana Plantation. — Coolie Laborers. — Cutting- Ba- 
nanas. — Fording- the Rio Grande. — Women Washing in 
the River. — Guavas and Calabashes. — A Horse- 
back Ride over a Precipitous Path. 



VRLY oDe afternoon we started in a carriage for Golden Vale 
banana jjlantation, which lies just beyond the Rio Grande, about 
six miles from Port Antonio, occupying a rich alluvial tract which, in 
the old days formed a great sugar plantation. These old sugar estates 
are now occupied by some of the finest banana plantations on the 
island. 

The road along the way was beautiful, and replete with much that 
was of great interest to us — and we stopped frequently to photograph 
some object, a native hut, a group of Avomeu, or a view which attracted 
us. A short distance from the Eio Grande, we reached the little ham- 
let of Fellowship, near which is located the banana plantation of the 
same name. 

Our driver i)ulled up as a gentleman on horseback, his face browned 
by the tropical sun, reined up beside the carriage and lifted his hat. 
The gentleman was Mr. F. A. Tlogers, in charge of tlic banana estates 
in the vicinity. He gave us a most cordial welcome, in a pleasant, easy 
manner, with that freedom of hospitality so charactti istic of Southern 
people. 



7^ 'Buckra Land. 

Mr. Rogers invited us to stop at his house on our return, and meet 
Mrs. Rogers, and with thanks we drove on toward Golden Yale. We 
reached the bank of the Rio Grande, which had to be forded, there 
being no bridge. How familiar it was to me — the swiftly flowing river, 
with high bluffs covered with palms and other tropical vegetation on 
one side, and the broad level plantation on the other, with the banana 
plants stretching away almost as far as we could see, while beautiful 
bamboos lined the opposite river-bank. We drove into the river, and 
although the water was not very high at this time, it came up to the 
hubs of the wheels. Reaching the other 1)ank we soon turned into one 
of the plantation roads, and drove through avenue after avenue, each 
perfectly straight, with the graceful banana trees on either side. Here 
and there we saw coolies at work cutting the fruit, cultivating the 
plantation or digging up weeds between the rows. The coolie banana 
cutter is very expert at liis work, and he has to be, for it rec^uires long 
practice to cut a bunch of bananas properly and bring it to the ground 
without injury. The bunch of fruit as it hangs on the plant, is far 
above the reach of the cutter. 'J'he coolie passes around among the 
plants, selects a bunch of fruit which is perfectly filled out and fully 
developed. Then, with his machete he slashes the stem at al)out the 
height of his head, cutting it about half way through. The weight of 
the bunch of bananas at once causes the plant to bend down, and as 
it droops slowly downward, the coolie quickly catches hold of the stem 
which grows from the lower end of the bunch, at the same moment 
clipping the stem at the other end of the bunch from the plant with 
one blow of his machete. (Quickly he clips oft" the great maroon- 
colored plunmiet at the lower end of the stem, and as the bunch at last 
touches the ground it is ready to be carted to the wharf , the whole 
operation of cutting being accomplished in a few seconds. Anyone 
who has ever tried to lift a good sized bunch of bananas with one hand 
can well understand that the operation of cutting requires a good deal 
of strength, to catch the bunch with one hand and lower it to the 
ground without injury to the fruit, for it does not do at all to bruise the 
bananas in the slightest degree. 



'Buckra Land. 75 

The coolies are brousrht from India, with the undeistandiug that they 
A\nU stay live years, th 11. if they wish, they are shipped back to India. 
Very few, it is said, care to return. Tliey are paid 25 cents a day and 
their rations. Instead of using this money for comforts, for actual 
necessaries, it is all beaten into jewelry and worn by the women for 
safe keeping. Each company brings a native silversmith. 

A typical coolie Avoman is artistically draped with Axhat looks like a 
breadth of unbleached cheesecloth, one end arranged aljout the head, 
then gracefully twined over the shoulders and about the waist to hang 
down, shawl-like, partially to conceal the limbs, one cornei- falling at 
the side just below the left knee, and the open part crossing near the 
other knee. A streak of led paint adorns the parting of her straight, 
black hair, and a smooch of the paint is in the centre of her forehead. 
Her limbs are beautifully rounded, and her skin, somewhat darker than 
our darkest brunette, has a clear, polished appearance. She has delicate 
features, and is a very attractive spectacle, as she stands before us in 
her simple, graceful dress, silver jewelry hanging from the entire rim 
of each ear, a silver necklace and pendants of coins closely encircling 
her neck, another chain fitting more loosely, then another, and still 
another, until her whole chest is covered. Her arms are wound about 
with silver l)racelets from wrist to shoulder, silver rings on every linger, 
her ankles bound with very heavy silver anklets, and silver rings again 
on every toe. Her tiny daughter stands by her side similarly clothed 
in cheeseclotli and jewelry, and she is fairly bewitching, as she grace- 
fully touched her forehead with her little hand and salaams to us 
inquisitive strangers. 

The little boys wear tlieii- shining brown skins, with the addition of a 
very narrow strip of cheeseclotli about the waist and between the legs. 
It is astonishing to see a coolie man deftly and swiftly bind a strip, 
yards long, of this cheese-cloth-like material in a tui-ban around his 
head. The same cloth foiins his short, loose trousers, not reaching to 
the knees, and resembling tlie little boys' narrow bandage widened out. 
A dark cloth roi'"dabout jacket completes his costume. 

Tlie coolies, both men and women, are an undersized, gentle-looking 



y6 'Buckra Land. 

people, aud are fond .-md proud of their childreu. They were far 
more attractive than the native negroes. 

We continued our drive through the plantation until we reached the 
main avenue. Into this we turned. By the edge of the bananas, beside 
the road were rows of orange trees and of pineapple plants. Here we 
stopped to take a few photographs. Looking down the broad avenue 
of banana trees, tOAvard the south, the mountains rose in all their 
majestic beauty, the sun shining upon the fleecy clouds that hovered 
above them until they shone like silver. "VVe soon emerged from the 
plantation and drove toward the "great house," which stands upon a 
high hill overlooking the beautiful fertile valley. At the foot of the 
hill, beside a little stream which flows into the Rio Grande, stands a 
massive stone ruin, dating back to the palmy days of the Jamaica sugar 
kings. The once majestic structure is crumbling and decaying, and 
myriads of brilliant little green lizards scramble about over its vine- 
covered walls. Near the plantation mule sheds we left the carriage aud 
were welcomed l)y Mr. Melvin, the "busha" or overseer of the planta- 
tion, and went with him up the hill toward the "great house." It is a 
lovelj-, ideal spot. The great house has large, airy rooms, aud a wide 
balcony or verandah extends around it on a level with the upper rooms 
There Mr. Melvin escorted us, and while we sat upon the cool verandah 
and rested and cooled ourselves, we sipped cool leraouade — made from 
fresh lemons newly plucked from trees near by. Here, too, near the 
present "great house," stands a moss-covered crumbling stone ruin, 
once the "great house" of the Golden Vale sugar plantation. Around 
the home of oui- host many tropical trees and plants grew, and orange 
trees loaded with fruit — aud immediately in front of the house was the 
greatest curiosity of all, a sago palm. Across the valley, on a hillside, 
Avere clustered the cabins of the coolie plantntiou laborers. 

Taking a last look over the beautiful \\\o Grande valley and the 
Golden Vale estate, we descended the hill to our carriage, and bidding- 
good bye to (mr host, started to rpturn to F<>llowship — ai>ain fording the 
Rio Grande. 

Below the fording place, a short distance, some black women were 



^Hchra Uind. jy 

wasliing olotheg in the river. They stood scattered along the bank, and 
their method of washing is this : 'I'hey dip the soapy clothes into the 
water, and then, laying them upon a smooth rock, they beat the clothes 
with a large thick wooden paddle, called a "beater." After the clothes 
are thoroughly cleansed, they spread them out upon the rock or bushes 
to dr}-. The women had their skirts caught up about their hips and 
their round, well shaped limbs, wet with the river water, shone like 
polished inaliogauy. They had with them quantities of yams, cocoa- 
nuts, plantaius, bread and sugar cane, and while waiting for the clothes 
to dry, they built a fire and prepared their dinner. 

We left the carriage and went down where the women were to 
photograph them. They seemed rather shy of the camera fearing, 
probably, that it would put a "bad spell" over them, and whenever I 
leveled the camera at them, they would move away. But one buxom 
young woman, more bold than the rest, showed some curiosity to 
examine the camera, so I showed her how to look into the ground-glass 
"finder," and see the tiny picture, and A\hen she saw the other woman 
in the picture she laughed gleefullj . Then she wanted the others to 
come and look into the camera. I asked this girl her name and for 
some time I could not understand it, but finally my wife made it out — 
"Miss Ann S"yer" (Sawyer). She was now anxious to have her "like- 
ness" taken, and took her position by the river. She wanted me to take 
her picture while she had her beatci- uplifted. After I had taken a 
couple of views. Miss S'yer, whose dress was very low in the neck and 
correspondingly high at the bottom, apologized for her appearance, 
and when I assured her that I thought her a very i)ietty girl, she 
laughed and said: — 'My gard, you brute" — jiud one of the others said — 
"wafll Jack sa\'?"' Miss \\\\\ S'yer then stepped uj) in front d' me. 
and said — "Ye wan' tak me Avid yeV" and when 1 pointed to my wife 
said that I had one girl and didn't want another, she laughed. 

On our waj' our driver pointed to a handsome tree near the road, a 
guava tree, well filled with fruit, and we gathered some which we ate 
as we drove along, finding them very refreshing. A short distance 
further along the road we came to a large calabash tree, loaded with 



jS ^iickra Land. 

the huge, hard shelled, globular calabashes — so much used by the 
peasantry of the tropics for making domestic utensils, which is done 
simply by cutting the fruit, and removing the inside. One very lai-ge 
calabash lay upon the ground, and we took it into the carriage. 

Arriving again at Fellowship, Mr. Rogers awaited us and together 
we went up a Aviudiug path, fringed with coleuses, azalias, crotons and 
many other beautiful plants that grow perfectly wild here, to the home 
of Mr. Rogers which stands at some distance upon the hillside. It is a 
perfect bower, a veritable nest, almost concealed from view before one 
reaches it, by trees and vines. Here we found a royal welcome await- 
ing us from Mrs. Rogers, and here we found a gracious hospitality 
which Ave shall never, never forget. Here in this beautiful abode we 
were made perfectly at home — and while we were gathered about the 
hospitable table, partaking of more of the luxuries of this tropical 
land than we had heretofore had the privilege of enjoying, the most 
acceptable among them being the delicate bread-fruit, we enjoyed the 
atmosphere of this lovely home, made so liy the cordiality of Mr. 
Rogers and the hospitality and grace of Mrs. Rogers, and by the pre- 
sence of their three beautiful children. 

Calling a servant, Mr. Rogers soon had awaiting us four saddle 
horses, and Mr. Rogers, Miss Pearson, a charming young ladj' from 
Kingston, and myself and wife, started away for a horseback ride over 
the mountains overlooking the Rio Grande valley. Up the steep ascent 
the horses climbed, scrambling over obstacles and skii-ting steep places 
in a path where a Northern horse would have been frantic, to say 
nothing of being totally unable to travel there at all. \Ninding back 
and forth, steadily upward, we at length reached the highest point of 
the elevation, when we stopped our horses beneath a grove of trees, 
and feasted our eyes upon the lovely panorama before and below us, 
the silver thread of the Rio Grande winding through the centre of the 
picture, which was framed by the lofty mountain peaks. A cool breeze 
was blowing up the valley, and the few moments we stood there to 
gether I shall always remember as among the happiest of my life. 

We started to return, and passing down the mountain we rode beneath 



>Ai-->. 


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X 


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ifi^K* "^^^ Tf 


^^Mi^^^ /^ 


£^la 


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mjtk 



Photograph by the Author's Wife. 
BANANA TUKK. 



'Biickra Land. yg 



some great trees, whose branches were laden with orcliids. llising in 
his saddle, Mr. Rogers gathered some of these wonderful air plants for 
us to take with us to America ; and in two of the bunches of orchids 
were found two curious nests of some tropical bird, ))oth of which I 
carried away to take home. At one place beside the road a ffreat orauoe 
tree, its branches filled full of golden fruit, lay prostrate, having been 
bloAvn down. 

But all things pleasant come to an end, as well as the unpleasant. 
On our return we found that our driver had given our calabash to a 
native, who, during our absence, had cut it, tOAvard one end, dividing it 
into two pieces. The shell had been cleaned, and the outside etched 
very skillfully in an artistic design, also the date of our visit, the only 
tool used being a knife. I gladly gave the artist a shilling, and we 
made ready to return to Port Antonio. 

Mr. Eogers had his own buggy made ready. 

In the meantime a group of coolie laborers had gathered about, and 
while we waited Mr. Rogers conversed with them in their native tongue, 
as they gathered curiously about to look at us. One of the women 
carried a baby, and such 'a baby ! Of all the infants in the world the 
strangest is the coolie infant. In every way except in size it appears 
as old as its parents— and this tiny ))r(n\-ii ))!tby sat bolt upright, astride 
its mother's hip, clad only in a short shiit and cap and demurely oazed 
at us with its black eyes, its tiny face being hardly larger round than a 
common tea cup, and scarcely a smile could we entice to the sober 
little face. 

The carriages ready, we started for Port Antonio, Mr. and xMrs. 
Rogers and myself in one, and my wife, Miss Pearson and Mr. Rogers- 
son in the othei-. Over the white road we drove, every now and then 
passing groups of men and women, and groups of coolie laborers, mules 
and bui-ros, returning from Port Antonio or from tlie day's labor. 
While still in the midst of these novel scenes along this tropical road, 
in the sweetness of the early evening we arrived at I'oit Antonio again, 
regretting that our sojourn in Jamaica was one dav shorter. 



CHAPTER XII. 



Banana Plantations.— How the Fruit is Cultivated.— Cutting the 

Fruit.— Hauling to the Wharf. — Loading 

for Shipment. 



N Jninak'ii, only one variety of the banuua is grown, and that is the 
yellow. The red bananas come almost wholly from Cuba, but they 
are not prolific, and therefore not profitable to grow. 

Bananas, like any other fruit, are greatly improved ))y cultivation. 
For example— the finest banamis that come' to this country, and those 
that bring the best prices, are from the Golden Grove and the Golden 
Vale plantations of Jamaica. Jamaica bananas are superior in quality 
and flavor to all others. The l)anana belongs to the lily family, and is 
a developed tropical lily, from which, after ages of development and 
growth, the seeds have been eliminated, and the fruit greatly expanded. 
The banana plant, being seedless, is propagated by suckers, requiring 
about eleven months for the plant to get its growth, and the fruit to 
mature. It is very prolific, and it is said that forty plants can be grown 
on one thousand square feet, which will bear 5000 pounds of fruit an- 
nually, and it is possible to grow as much as 175,000 pounds of bananas 
on a single acre of ground I 

The banana plant has a soft stalk, is from ten to eighteen feet in 
height, spreading out at the top in a cluster of broad leaves, which are 
from 15 to 20 inches wide, eight or ten feet long, and of a bright green 
color. The older leaves, on account of their being constantly swayed 



"Biickra Land. 8i 

by the wind, usually split ;»t intervals of two or three inches, from their 
edges to the mid-rib, thereby adding to theii- grace and beauty. Each 
plant bears only one bunch of fi'uit, which hangs with the "hands" 
curving upward, and at the lower end of the bunch, from a long green 
stem, hangs the blossom — a great heart-shaped maroon colored plum- 
met, about the size of an ox's heart, and mucli the same shape. 

We will suppose that a new plantation of bananas is to be started. 
The dense tropical growth of brush, trees and creepers is cut down, and 
when it is sufficiently dried, fire is set in several places on the wind- 
ward side. \ few hours ol crackling flame, and the ground is covered 
with a pall of gray ashes and blackened trunks, which are collected 
and piled for later burning. The ground is then plowed and dug up, 
and banana sprouts or "suckers,"' looldug like logs of wood, with a 
tiny sprout, are set in the rich soil. The suckers are dug either from 
cultivated plantations, or from where they hwxa been growing wild, are 
from one to four feet long, and from two to live inches in diameter, and 
from the small end of each peeps a little liit of green. In eight or 
nine months after llic planting, the plniits will have their plumes, 
sheltering hunchc •>; jreen fruit, wliicli are ready to cut in two or 
three months thereafter. 

On the plantations, bananas are planted fifteen feet apart each way, 
the rows crossing one another at right angles. Therefore, when the 
plants are fully grown their leaves Just aloiit meet, excluding nearly 
every ray of the bright tropical sun from the ground l)ciieath; this 
arrests evaporation, and keeps the soil at just a))out the right degree of 
moisture. After the shoots an- i)lanlcd they requin^ liut xcry lillle 
attention until the fruit is leady for cutting; but during the lirst few 
months a cultivator is run between the rows to keep down the weeds, 
which grow very rapidly in the rich, hot soil. 

A plantation requires to be replanted with new shoots about once in 
every five years, in order to maintain the highest (|uality of the fruit, as 
successive reproduction from the original plant deteriorates the (piality 
of the fruit, and decreases the size of the bunches. 

The fruit is cut when it is fully grown but still perfectly green. 



82 "Buckra Land. 

When the cutting begin? an expert goes over the estate, and he is re- 
sponsible for the collecting of the fruit in good condition and size. 

I have already described the cutting of the bunches. After they are 
cut they are laid carefully in carts, packed with plenty of "trash" or 
dry banana leaves, and grass, and draAvn to the wharf where the 
steamer is waiting to i-eceive its cargo. The arrivals and departures of 
the steamers are timed exactly, and there is little or no delay in loading 
the fruit. 

All the forenoon, since early in the morning, if the steamer sails in 
the afternoon, and all the afternoon, it the steamer sails in the night, 
the plantation hands, Avitli mules and carts, are bringing the bananas 
in from the plantations, and on the arrival of carts at the wharf, the 
bananas are unloaded and sorted according to the size of the bunches ; 
"five hands," "seven hands," eight hands," etc., denoting the number 
of rows of bananas there are in each buudi. Very frequently the 
steamer loads at night. The great hull loom's up by the side of the 
wharf, the latter being covered Avith blacks, both men and women. 
The interior of the banana sheds on the wharf is lighted by lanterns 
hung about, while the wharf is illuminated by the flaring light of gaso- 
line burners: l)ut in Port xVntonio, the electric light is employed. The 
evening is cool, and the soft, tropical sky above blazes with myriads of 
stars. Standing about are the superintendents of the loading of the 
steamer. The people who pass along the bunches go to the bin desig- 
nated by ithe superintendent, and each picks up a bunch of bananas, 
the men placing the bunches upon their shoulders, and the women car- 
rying them upon .their heads. Then they walk accross the wharf to 
the steamer, where ;the bunches are passed to others, Avho stow them 
awav between decks. As the dusky file passes in the launches, it con- 
tinues around, retiring to the wharf for more, thus forming two con- 
tinuously moving lines, going in opposite directions, one with bananas 
going to the ship, and the other retiring to the sheds. ITsually the 
people keep [up a monotonous singing, their song being peculiar to 
themselves and the eftect, together with the strange and novel sur- 
roundings, is rather fascinating to the traveler. 




l.i)AI)IN(; llAXAXAS AT I'dRT ANTONIO. 
Ki-oiii ;iii Oii<i;in;(l I'liotogiapli. 



^uckra Land. 8ji 

Another thing worthy of notice is the "scoring," or counting of the 
bunches as they pass finto the steamer. One stands by the port and 
counts the bunches as thej' go in, the other scoring upon a book at 
each live bunches. The man at the steamer's port counts in a curious 
sing-song way, like this: "Wan (one), two, an" tree, an' fo',tally-e-e-e," 
at which the other marks live bunches, the counting and scoring con- 
tinuing until the steamer is loaded. 

The day of our departure came, and reluctantly we made ready to 
embark on the steamship Barnstable. 

Earlj' that morning 1 went for a last walk, choosing to go to the 
summit of a high hill, which overlooks Port Antonio. On this hill 
there is an old ruined church, and surrounding the ruin is an old church- 
yard, with many graves and old headstones. Near this old church ruin 
I sat beneath a rubber tree, and enjoyed the lovely view below and 
around me. At my feet lay the village of Fort Antonio, and beyond 
the little reef-bound and palm-fringed harbor. At the wharves all 
was activity, for several steamers were in port waiting to load. I had 
the camera with me, and after taking a picture of the harbor, I returned 
to the Titchfield House. Our eftects were packed, and our collections 
stored for the long voyage. "VVe bade good-bye to those who had been 
so kind to us, and waved back a bist adieu as the carnage whirled us 
away to the wharf. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Leaving- Port Antonio.— Visit to Port Maria.— Along the Coast. 
Port Morant and Morarit Bay.— Loading the Steamer. — 
Novel Sights. — Homeward Bound. 



Y^O'riClNG that the flags of the Barnstable were at half-mast, I 
ly' found that one of the passengers, an elderly gentleman, had 
died during the passage out. 

It was an animated scene at and in the vicinity of the wharf, as we 
made our final arrangements for embarking. The laborers were moving 
about this way and that, getting fruit and supplies on board the steam- 
er; mule carts were coming in from the plantations with loads of 
bananas and returning for more ; the people were shouting, talking and 
laughing ; Those in charge were superintending the work. On such 
days, with so many people around the lauding, enterprising black 
women set up little stands, where they have for sale bread, green 
cocoanuts, yams, plantains and bananas, which the laborers buy and 
eat as they work. 

Finally, our personal effects were on board, and we followed them 
to the deck of the Barnstable. Soon the moorings were cast oft", and 
then the steamer began to swing away from the wharf, and turned her 
prow outward. We stood by the pilot house and watched the receding 
shore, and the old fort where we had enjoyed so many pleasant strolls, 
and so on past Folly Point, and then we turned to the westward. Port 



'Btickra Land. 8^ 

Antonio was soon hidden behind the island which forms one side of 
the harbor. 

We were bound for Hope Bay, a few miles along the coast, for some 
oranges that were awaiting shipment. Just as the last ray of daylight 
faded away, we dropped anchor a little way off shore, at Hope Bay. 
Here we lay for several hours, during which we and our fellow pas- 
sengers on the voyage gathered around the table in the saloon, at which 
Capt. Paine presided, which occasion was our first acquaintance with 
the pleasant, popular commander, of whom every passenger on the 
Barnstable carries away many pleasant memories. 

As the last boat started for the shore, after having unloaded its 
oranges, the anchor was hove up, and the Barnstable turned east. 
When we arrived off Port' Antonio, the steamer hove to, while the 
boats that had been taken from Port Antonio to assist in lightering the 
oranges to the steamer, were lowered, filled with laborers, who pulled 
into Port Antonio, while we went on, rounding Folly Point and turning 
southward for Port Morant and Morant Bay, at which port the steamer 
was to talie her cargo of bananas and more oranges. 

At seven o'clock, when I went on deck the next morning, I found 
that earlier in the morning we had put in at Port Morant, taken what 
bananas were ready, and then sailed for Morant Bay, still further along 
tlie coast. Soon we came to anchor at quite a distance from shore off 
Morant Bay, where we watched the interesting process of lightering 
the bananas from shore, the boats being,piled high with fruit until the 
gunwales were only two or three inches above the water. The heavy 
boatloads are slowly sculled out to the steamer, made fast alongside, 
and passed into the hold througii the open ports. For some distance 
from shore, and in the bay, the seawater was opa(]ue, made so by the 
soil brought down by the rivers swollen by the recent heavy rains 
among the mountains. 

Beyond, on the north of our anchorage, were the beautiful mountains 
of the island, the sun shining brightly upon the foliage of the palms, 
while the fleecy clouds floating over the land, cast many beautiful 
shadows over the landscape. 



S6 'Buckra Land. 

The last bunch aboard, the anchor was hove up, and the steamer 
turned toward Port Morant. 

Just as the anchor of the "Barnstable" was being hove up, a cloud 
of black smoke was seen to the westward, and soon the Atlas coastal 
steamer "Adula" appeared coming along the coast from Kingston; and 
before the "Barnstable" got under way, she had passed us. But the 
"Barnstable," when once her wheel began to turn, quickly overhauled 
and passed the "Adula," and so far was she astern when we entered 
Port Morant that Captain Paine, of the "Barnstable," thought she had 
stopped her engines. But she was still moving, though not as rapidly 
as the "Barnstable." 

At Port Morant the steamer could go up to the wharf, where there 
are extensive storage sheds and offices of the Boston Fruit Co., and 
here we remained the rest of the afternoon, while the native women 
were carrying the thousands of bunches of bananas from the sheds to 
the steamer. Mule-carts and great carts drawn by long-horned oxen, 
two or three pairs, the leaders, or first yoke, being led by a coolie who 
walked along ahead holding one end of a cord which was tied to the off 
ox of the forward yoke, the other pairs of oxen being driven by blacks 
who carried long goads, kept coming in from the plantations all the 
afternoon. 

In and around the wharf and sheds the scene was novel and interest- 
ing, as well as an animated one. Groups of women and children were 
squatting at one side, with bread, fruits and vegetables for sale, and 
they were well patronized by the workers. 

Two lines of women were constantly passing to and fro between the 
sheds and the steamer, one line at the after port, and one at the forward 
port — carrying the large fine bunches of fruit upon their heads, the 
moving lines coming to a stop as they neared the steamer's port, where 
each woman waited her turn to be relieved of her load. Two men, one 
on each side lifted the bunches from the women's heads, and, in the 
sheds, men were in attendance to lift the enormous bunches of bananas 
upon the heads of the women, for while they would walk lightly and 
rapidly, with figures perfectly erect with these heavy bunches upon 



'Buckra Land. gy 

their heads, they were unable to either place the bunches there or 
remove them unassisted. And I have seen the same thing time and 
time again in Jamaica, where the native men and women would carry, 
without apparent effort, weights upon their heads that they could not 
even lift. 

The women were talking and laughing merrily, and, as a group of 
them passed by where my wife and another lady passenger stood 
watching the loading of the steamer, one of the black women became 
unusually boisterous— whereupon another black woman, barefooted, 
bare-legged, bare-headed, and with the bodice of her dress a la de- 
collette— very much so, reproved the noisy one by addressing her in 
this fashion— '"Doan' mak loud n'ise fo' nice ladies." (Don't make a 
loud noise before the nice ladies). 

While we were in Port Morant, a bark lay at anchor in the bay, just 
up from Demerara on the opposite South American shore. She was 
taking in logwood, which was being lightered out to her. 

During the afternoon we went ashore and walked for some distance 
along the road by the sea. At Port Morant nothing can be seen beyond 
the immediate water-side— for the shore is bold and precipitous, and the 
entire face of the steep bluff is covered by a magniflcent growth of 
cocoanut palms. For some distance we walked along, until we came to 
a small store where a variety of articles were kept, and which I entered 
to purchase something which I wished for the voyage. Thinking no 
doubt that I was not familiar with the money of the country he gave 
me the wrong change, not half as much as was due me— which I did 
not discover, but which my wife did after we had gone some little dis- 
tance. Caring nothing for the few pence but not liking to be beaten in 
such a bare-faced manner, I went back and charged him Mith the 
deception, which he strenuously denied at first ; but when he found 
that he could not deceive me further he gave me the correct change. 

Finally, after it was fully dark, the fruit was on aboard, the laborers 
were taking their departure, some going along the road, and some pack- 
ing themselves away in boats, laughing and talking, bound for the other 
side of the bay. Our lines were cast off, the steamer swung around, 



88 'Buckra Land. 

and we, for the last time, began to leave the shores where we had en- 
joyed ourselves so much and seen so many wonderful things. Port 
Morant is rather difficult of entry, owing to the shoals and coral reefs, 
and ever since we left Port Antonio we had a skilled pilot aboard, Mr. 
Alford, by name, whom I had met on my previous visit to Jamaica. 

A couple of men had been sent in a boat out to the buoy marking the 
channel. Mooring their boat to the buoy they displayed a light for the 
guidance of the Captain in working the steamer out of the bay. 

The island soon faded in the darkness, and as the magnificent light 
on Morant Point flashed astern, we retired to our stateroom. 

When we went on deck the next morning Jamaica was no longer in 
sight, and we were upon the blue Caribbean. It was a beautiful day, 
a perfect tropical day ; after breakfast, we prepared to enjoy ourselves. 

Early in the afternoon we sighted (Juba, and during the remainder of 
the day we steamed so close along the Cuban shore that we could plain- 
ly see even the blades of grass and the i)lumes of the pampas grass, 
while upon the hills we could see the palms and some buildings. The 
gea gently Ava shed the honey-comV)ed shore and into the dark caverns 
worn out by ceaseless action of the waves. The water was beautifully 
blue, and the bright sun shining upon this magnificent, superb, rich island, 
formed a picture never to be forgotten, and the air was soft and balmy. 

The Windward Passage, through which we were now steaming, is 
one of the greatest and most important ocean highways on the globe. 
Connecting the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, through it lie 
the courses of the great traffic of steamships and vessels I)etween all 
the ports of the I'nited States and Canada to the ports of the northern 
coast of South America, those of the various West India Islands and 
Central America. Up and down the Windward Passage, in and out of 
the Caribbean, the tonnage of the Western Hemisphere flows its way. 
Usually a strong w ind blows down through the Passage in a south- 
easterly direction, making it often a difficult, or, to say the least, a slow 
and tedious task for sailing vessels to beat up to Cape Maysi, Cuba, 
from whence they catch a fair wind which bears them on their north- 
wai'd courses. 



'^iwkra Land. 8g 

A school of great porpoises were seen about the bows of the steamer. 
They must each have been eight or ten feet long and swam wiih their 
backs just under water, keeping pace with the ship, but without any 
motion of fins or tail that we could see. But they soon fell behind. 

Late in the afternoon the lofty blue mountains of Hayti stood boldly 
up against the eastern horizon, and just before sunset we passed Cape 
Maysi, on the extreme northeast coast of Cuba, and as the light flashed 
from the tall tower, we passed the cape, rounded the last headland, ofl:" 
Yumuri, and passed from the Caribbean to the Bahama Sea. 

What a beautiful evening, at sea in the tropics ! The bright stars 
above, the phosphorescent sea around us, the water gurgling around 
the bows like liquid fire, and a wide path of golden light stretched 
along the surface of the sea far astern. 

The air was soft, delicious and balmy, and we remained late on deck. 

Little more remains to be told. Steadily the Barnstable plowed her 
course north, and one by one we repassed the islands of the Bahamas, 
experiencing beautiful weather and a smooth sea, for the most part, 
life on board being rendered in every way pleasant by the kindness and 
uniform pleasantness of Capt. Paine, with whom we hope some time to 
take another voyage, as does everybody who has voyaged with him 
once -, and Mr. Butman, the populai- second officer, who has sailed in 
many seas and visited many spots on the globe, was untiring in his 
efforts to make us comfortable and our voyage pleasant. 

The last night of the voyage was one of beautiful moonlight, with a 
chill in the air denoting that we were leaving the Gulf Stream, that we 
were no longer in the tropics — but in the North. Yet it was not uncom- 
fortably cold. We would sight the light ship on Nantucket Shoals 
about 11 o'clock, the Captain said, but we did not wait for it. 

The next morning, when we came on deck, we were in Massachusetts 
Bay, the pilot was aboard, and we were passing the familiar land- 
marks of the South Shore, the harbor islands and the lights; and 
fishermen, steamers and tugs— and ere long we were lying in the dock, 
and our voyage was at an end. 



APPENDIX. 



NE of the first things concerning which the prospective visitor 

to a tropical country wishes information is the climate. Like 

all tropical regions, the climate of Jamaica is divided into two 

seasons, the Wet and Dry ; but owing to its very mountainous physical 

aspect, even during the rainy season the climate is such as to cause no 

inconvenience worth taking into consideration. 

The Dry season commences about the middle of November and 
continues until May. during which time the days are bright, dry and 
clear, with clear skies. The temperature averages about 80"; while at 
sea the warmth is tempered by the trade winds which blow from the 
northeast. On shore, the delicious, soft land breeze blows at night and 
the sea breeze by d;iy. This free circulation of dry, pure air and the 
rich and abundant sunlight renders the climate during this season both 
exhilarating and salubrious, while the variations in temperature are 
slight. 

Historical. — Xaymnca, as the island was aboriginally known, is sit- 
uated in the Caribbean Sea, about ninety miles to the South of Cuba^ 
within 17° 43'— 18= 32' N. lat. and 76° h'— 78° 21' W. long. It is the 
"fairest gem in England's Crown," is 144 miles in length and 49 in extreme 
breadth, containing an area of 4,193 square miles and a population of 
about 600,000. 

The coast line is about 500 miles long and presents numerous indenta- 
tions which form nuiny snug harbors. Port Antonio has a picturesque 
entrance and lighthouse ; Dry Harbour a wonderful cave, an old-time 
resort of the pirates ; Falmouth is guarded Ijy reefs. At Port Maria, 
the water is as clear as crystal, forty feet appearing as three or four. 
There are also many other attractive ports. The island is intersected 
by splendid roads— Avide macadamized thoroughfares, connecting every 
village and town. 



^Appendix. 

The chief articles of export from Jamaica are bananas, oranges, limes, 
sugar, rmn, coffee, fruit, pimento, dye and other woods. 

Kingston and Port Royal. — Kingston is the principal town of Jamaica, 
and the Seat of Government and residence of the Governor, — Spanish 
Town, being the capital until 1872. It is situated at the foot of the 
mountains, on the Liguanea Plains at the head of the harbor formed by 
the arm of the Palisados, at the outer end of which is Port Royal. 
Its streets are good, well lighted, electric lights being in use. It has a 
good street car service and in the stores anything can be purchased. 

Port Royal is situated at the extreme end of a narrow neck of land, 
facing the entire front of the harbor of Kingston and acting as a 
natural breakwater — is as it were the entrance gate to that harbor. 
Port Royal Avas, prior to the great earthquake, the finest town in the 
West Indies and at that time the lichest spot in the universe. It was 
the headquarters of the buccaneers and the mart of their ill-gotten 
wealth. At half-past eleven o'clock on the nidrning of the 17th of 
June, 1692, the town was shaken by a tremendous earthquake when 
the streets with their inhabitants were swallowed up by the opening of 
the earth. The ruins of old Port Royal, it is said, are even yet visible 
in clear weather from the surface of the waters under which they lie. 
The town was rebuilt after the eaithcxuake, but today it is interesting 
■chiefly on account of the tlirilling history of its ancient predecessor. 
Since the earthquake it has twice been laid low by fire. It is an impor- 
tant British naval station, has a dock yard, and contains the official 
residence of the Cominandant and staff. Port Royal with Rocky Point, 
Apostles Battery and Fort Augusta, constitutes the harbor defences 
of Jamaica. 

Jamaica was discovered in May, 1494, by Columbus on his second 
trip to the new world, who called it St. Jago. It remained a Spanish 
possession for 161 years, when in 1655 a British expedition sent out by 
Oliver Cromwell under Admirals Penn and Veuablos attacked the island, 
and in 1670 it was formally ceded to England by the Treaty of Madrid. 
From the sea-level on all sides of Jamaica a series of ridges gradually 
ascend towards the central ranges from which they radiate, dividing the 
larger rivers and attaining, in the culminating western peak of the Blue 
Mountains, an elevation of 7,335 feet. From these mountains many 
streams descend to tlie north and south shores. 

The country is abundantly watered. Every valley has its rivulet and 
every hill its cascade. The lovely Blue Mountains form the eastern 
part of a range whicli runs across the island very nearly fiom west to 



^Appendix. 



«ast, and overshadow Kingston and present a grand and picturesque 
background to the city; the gorgeous tints and lovely play of colors on 
these mountains, so close to the city, and the everchanging cloud effects, 
are excelled in no other part of the world. 

Native Products, Fruits, Etc.-The delicious products and fruits of the 
tropics are procurable in plenty. The following will give a good idea 
of the great variety and the cost :- 



Goat's Flesh, 9d. per IJ). 

Turtle, 6d. per lb. 

Fish, 6d. per lb. 

Pine Apple, 4s to 6s per doz. 

Granadilla, 3d. to 6d. each. 

Custard Apple, Is per doz. 

Cherrimoyer, Is per doz. 

Dry Cocoanuts, Is per doz. 

Bread-fruit, Is per doz. 

Sugar Canes, Is per bun. of 16 or 

20, 3ft. long. 
Sweetsop, 6d. per doz. 
Naseberry, 6d. per doz. 
Mangoes, 3d. per doz. 
Star Apple, 6d. per doz. 
Tangerine Oranges, 6d. per doz. 
Avocado Pears, Is per doz. 
Cashew, 14 d. per doz. 
Shaddock, 2s per doz. 
Papaw, 3d. each. 
Eipe Bananas, 3d. per doz. 
Wanglow, 6d per quart. 
Ginger, "a heap," weighing 1 lb., 



Guava, Id. per doz. 
Limes, l^d. per doz. 
Sweet Cup, lid. a heap. 
Locust, lid. a heap. 
Sweet Lemon, 3d. per doz. 
Forbidden-fruit, 6d. per doz. 
Prickly Pears, 3d. per doz. 
Eose Apples, lid. per doz. 
Pigeons, Is 6d a pair. 
Chocho, 6d. per doz. 
Garden Eggs, 9d. or Is per doz. 
Ackee, lid. to 3d. per doz. 
Yellow Yam, 6s to 13s per cwt. 
White Yam, 7s to 15s per cwt. 
Cocoa, 8s to 10s per cwt. 
Plantains, 4s 6d to 6s per hundred. 
Ockra and Peppers are sold in 

bundles or by heaps. 
Congo Peas, 6d. per quart. 
Groundnuts, 3d. per quart. 
Annatto, 4id. per quart. 
Coffee, Is per quart. 
Kola Nuts, 4id. per doz. 



lid. 

Minsral Springs.— The island abounds in mineral and hot springs- 
Chief among these are the sulphurous sodic-ealcic thermal, at the vil- 
lage of Bath ; a saline calcic thermal, at Milk River, in Vere ; a cold 
saline calcic, at Port Henderson, near Kingston ; a strong chloro-calcic, 
in St. Ann's ; and an acidulous ferro-aluminous, in the mountains of 
St. Andrew. The bath of St. Thomas the Apostle, is situated near the 
village of Bath, in the parish of St. Thomas. These, some cold and 
some hot run across the road beyond the bath into the Sulphur River 
below. Into these baths the water from the hot springs is led by means 



•Appendix. 

of a stone gutter, the hottest water coming from the spring at a tem- 
perature of 132" Fahr. 

The Jamaica Bailway.— (See page 29.) 

Tram Cars and Cabs.— In Kingston, there are lines of tram-cars, the 
principal fares being: to Halfway-Tree, 6d. by tickets or 9d. in money; 
to Constant Spring, Is. in tickets or Is. 6d. in money, return tickets Is. 
6d. each. On each of the other lines the fare is 2d. by tickets or 3d. in 
money. 

In Kingston, there are numerous livery stables. The general practice 
is for long distances and where the hirer has the use of the buggy and 
horses for a longer period than one week, to charge at the rate of £1 a 
daj^ One can arrange, before starting on his journey, either that the 
livery stable keeper shall include the cost of feeding the driver and 
horses in the charge for hire, or that he himself shall pay them as he 
goes along. The rate paid for the driver's food is usually Is. 6d. a day, 
:ind the cost of feeding the horses varies according to the current 
prices of corn and grass in the district visited. The cab service in the 
city of Kingston is regulated by law and the traveller should post him- 
self on this point on arrival. Plenty of carriages can be hired in all the 
towns and large villages on the island. 

Hotels. — The Constant Spring Hotel is situated about six miles from 
the city of Kingston, nearly (iOO feet above the level of the sea, on the 
northern edge of the savanna known as the Ligueanea Plain, which 
lies between the sea and the foot of the Blue Mountains. The rates 
range from $3 a day, $18 per week, upward. 

The Myrtle Bank Hotel is situated on Harbor street in Kingston. It 
is modern and comfortable. The rates are about ^3 per day, or $18 per 
week. 

Park I>(>dge Hotel. (See page 54.) 

Castleton Cottages, near Castleton Gardens. This charming retreat 
is easy of access, either from Kingston or from the ports on the north 
coast. Here the sojourner will experiepce all the glories of an elevated 
tropical region, amid the palm covered mountains of the Torrid Zone, 
a medium temperature, pure, perfect air and perfect rest. The rates 
are moderate and the best of everything desired is given in return. 

Good lodging and boarding houses may be found in every little village, 
town or hamlet, Avhether on the coast or in the interior. (See page 20.) 

Suggestions for Trips. — From Port Antonio the coastwise service of 
the IJoston Fruit Co.'s steamers enable the traveler to pleasantly and 
easily reach the numerous little out-ports, from which excursions into 



^Appendix. 

the interior can be made, or carriages may be engaged and the drive 
taken around the island. From Port Antonio the road affords one of 
the most lovely drives in the island. The road from here to Annotto 
Bay crosses the beautiful Eio Grande, and passes through the villages 
of Hope Bay and Buff Bay, skirting the sea for most of the way. The 
distant mountain scenery is very beautiful. 

From Annotto Bay, the road leads to Port Maria. From Port Maria 
the road continues through the parish of St. Mary to White River, the 
falls of which are very beautiful. The main road continues through 
the parish of St. Ann, along the seaside to the village of Ocho Rios. 
Lovely scenery is seen in the parish of St. Ann, and the Roaring River 
Falls, four miles east, are a grand sight. 

The town of St. Ann's Bay is situated on rising ground. A trip 
through the i^arish of St. Ann will be found extremely enjoyable. The 
traveler may go from St. Ann's Bay by stage or buggy to Moneague 
and to the top of Mount Diablo, where, early in the morning, he will 
witness one of the most extraordinary sights in Jamaica, the conversion 
of the district of St. Thomas-iu-ye-Vale, which lies at the foot of the 
hill on the other side, into a lake of fog, which any stranger might take 
for water. From here the Ewarton railway station is only five miles 
distant, from whence the trip is easily made by railway to Kingston. 

Should the traveler prefer to continue around the coast, he can do so 
from St. Ann's Bay, where, instead of taking the road to Moneague, he 
will follow the coast road which passes through the villages of Runa- 
way Bay and Dry Harbor and crosses the Rio Bueno by a fine bridge. 
Two miles to the eastward of Dry Harbor, a very remarkable cave is 
situated near the southern side of the road. The cave is v^ery extensive, 
having never been fully explored. The road from Rio Bueno continues 
westward through some fine sugar estates to the town of Falmouth. 
Montego Bay, the chief town of the parish of St. James, is very 
prettily situated and has a fine harbor. From there the railway takes 
one to Kingston, passing en route, through one of the most beautiful 
regions in the world, replete with wonders almost innumerable. 

If possible, the tourist should not fail while in Kingston, to visit 
Mandei-ville, by taking the railway to Porus, from which a buggy can 
be hired to take him to Manderville. 

Taking one of the Bostan Fruit Co's steamers from Port Antonio to 
Poit Morant, the fertile Plantain Garden River Estates will be seen, 
where are produced the finest bananas grown in the world — while the 
beautiful Cuna-Cun a and John Crow mountains loom up in the back- 
ground. 



z/Jpperuiix. 

Bell Time On Ship-board. 

The day at sea commences at noon instead of at midnight, as on 
shore. 

The same bells are for A. m. as for P. M.— that is, the first bell of the 
nautical day, which is "One Bell," strikes at 12.30 p. M., and thereafter 
every half hour to four o'clock p. M. which is "Eight Bells," then "One 
Bell" again, anil so on to eight o'clock P. M. whicli is eight bells ; then at 
8.30 o'clock, "One Bell," and soon to midnight, which is "Eight Bells." 

1 ijell, 12.30 4.30 8.30 

2 Bells, 1-00 .0.00 9.00 

3 ^. 1.30 5.30 9.30 

4 u 2.00 6.00 10.00 

5 u 2.30 6.30 10.30 

6 " 3.00 7.00 11.00 

7 '* 3.30 7.30 11.30 

8 u 4.00 8.00 12.00 

Money Current in Jamaica. 
The money current in Jamaica includes British gold and silver of all 
denominations, the money account of Jamaica being pounds, shillings 
and pence, sterling. The only paper currency of the island consists of 
notes of the Colonial Bank. Jamaica has nickle coins of its own, con- 
sisting of Penny. Halfpenny and Farthing. The following table show- 
ing the value of money current in Jamaica will be of assistance: 

*One round note, $4.86i 

Half ( rown, 2s, 6d 60 

Florin. 2s 48 

Shilling 24 

Sixpence 12 

Threepence f 6 

Pennv ^2 

Halfpence 01 

Farthini^ ic 

♦Nominally, $5 

In the vulgar parlance of people of the island, a "Bob" is one shill- 
ing, and a "quattie" is a penny and a half penny. 

United States gold coins are perfectly current throughout the island. 

T'he traveler may take United States gold — or, what is better, a letter 
of credit or a sight draft which may be procured of the steamship 
company on whose line he travels. 



■••«« ,. 



iw.^wl 



i- * ' i . 



